Agenda item

Application for the removal of condition 3 (delivery hours) and condition 9 (parking) on consent 2020/0242/FUL (The conversion of a free house into a farm shop and kitchen cafe. Attached micropub and side extension for added seating areas. First Floor alterations for 2 separate staff accommodations).

That planning application 2023/0167/VRC be APPROVED contrary to the Officer’s recommendation but subject to the following variations to the two conditions, namely that:

Condition 3 and Condition 9 of planning permission 2020/0242/FUL shall remain in full effect until:

1. an operational plan for deliveries has been submitted to and approved by the Council; and
2. the off-site car park approved pursuant to planning permission 2022/1618/FUL has been implemented and brought into use.

Thereafter, Condition 3 of planning permission 2020/0242/FUL shall be varied to read as follows:

“Condition 3 - Deliveries shall be taken at or despatched from the site only between Monday - Saturday 06:00 hours till 20:00 hours, and not at any time on Sundays”

At the start of this agenda item Cllr Robbins left the meeting due to his earlier Declaration of Interest at Agenda Item 3.

The Officer’s Report stated that the application had been referred to the Planning Committee at the request of the Chairman and as the Officer’s recommendation to refuse differed from that of the Parish Council.

Since the Officer’s recommendation was completed on this application, approval had been granted for a self-contained car park away from the pub site under application number 2022/1618/FUL. Despite this, the proposed arrangements for deliveries to the pub and the changes to the use of the area for vehicular parking directly opposite the pub site were still considered  unacceptable by Officers.

In the summary, the Planning Officer’s report concluded that the removal of conditions 3 and 9 from 2020/0242/FUL would result in unacceptable harm in terms of amenity loss, highway safety impacts, loss of parking and visual harm. This harm would outweigh any benefits which might  result from the removal of the conditions and the application was therefore, recommended for refusal.

The Planning Officer explained the application to the Committee with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation.

The Committee was then addressed by an objector to the application. The comments included:

• Speaking on behalf of the nearest neighbour whose access has been badly affected by the location of the rubbish bins.
• A prescriptive easement was already in place when the pub was purchased. This makes it difficult for the neighbour to enter his property or turn his car.
• All delivery vehicles are a disturbance and some arrive earlier than the conditioned 7.00 am. Removal of that condition would cause greater disturbance at earlier hours.

A representative from the Parish Council was the next to speak. He said the Parish Council had recommended approval of the application. The village has very few facilities and the pub was a great asset to the village. He noted that the application had been submitted over a year ago and objections dated back to February 2023. It was not acceptable to be making a decision based upon old information and that many of the issues raised in the objections had been resolved.

The final speaker was the applicant. He made the following comments:

• He has owned and operated the business for 14 years.
• There have 25 comments of support only 1 neighbour has made objections.
• The Parish Council are in full support.
• He has requested his suppliers not to make deliveries until after 7.00 am, but occasionally they do come earlier. This does not happen often.
• The Council has asked the neighbouring property owners if there has been noise disturbance from the deliveries. None were identified apart from the 1 neighbouring property.
• The storage of the waste bins near to the windows of the pub is not ideal and causes a blockage in the road when the lorries come to empty them. There is also the odour and unsightly look to consider.
• Would like to return the bins to their original location in the north of the parking area opposite the pub and requests that Condition 9 is therefore removed.

In the discussion which followed, Members made a number of comments including the following:

• The concerns of both the owner and the neighbour are appreciated.
• Pubs are closing at a fast rate. They need support and restricting the hours that deliveries can be made is not supportive.
• The photographs provided to the Committee of overflowing bins are not representative of the situation as it stands now. They were taken during Covid restrictions.
• As a new car park has been approved for construction serving the pub, Condition 9 restricting could be removed once the new car park is operational.
• It is difficult to see how the harms would outweigh the benefits of this application.
• The current location of the bins directly under the windows of the pub is not ideal due to odours, vermin and being unsightly. 
• An operational plan for deliveries could be required before the removal of Condition 9.

The removal or re-wording of Conditions 3 and 9 was discussed at length and culminated with the decision to approve the application but with the prior submission and approval of an operational plan for deliveries. Once the new car park had been built and was operational, Condition 3 would be amended to read deliveries would only be permitted between 6.00 am to 8.00 pm, including Public and Bank Holiday, but not on Sundays. Condition 9 would be removed in its entirety, but only when the new car park had been built and was operational.

At the conclusion of the debate, it was proposed by Councillor Martin Dimmery and seconded by Councillor Susannah Hart to approve the application contrary to the Officer’s recommendation, but with amendments to the conditions as shown below.

On being put to the vote the proposal was carried with 7 votes in favour, 1 vote against and 1 abstention.

RESOLVED

That planning application 2023/0167/VRC be APPROVED contrary to the Officer’s recommendation but subject to the following variations to the two conditions, namely that:

Condition 3 and Condition 9 of planning permission 2020/0242/FUL shall remain in full effect until:

1. an operational plan for deliveries has been submitted to and approved by the Council; and
2. the off-site car park approved pursuant to planning permission 2022/1618/FUL has been implemented and brought into use.

Thereafter, Condition 3 of planning permission 2020/0242/FUL shall be varied to read as follows:

“Condition 3 - Deliveries shall be taken at or despatched from the site only between Monday - Saturday 06:00 hours till 20:00 hours, and not at any time on Sundays”

and Condition 9 of planning permission 2020/0242/FUL shall be deleted in its entirety.

Votes – 7 in favour, 1 against and 1 abstention