Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Katy Boughey and Kate Lymer; Councillors Kieran Terry and Nicholas Bennett J.P. attended as their respective substitutes.

An apology for absence was also received from Councillor Melanie Stevens.

In relation to Item 7, Councillor Fawthrop declared a non-pecuniary interest as his daughter resided in close proximity to land north and east of Westerham.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 November 2018 and the Minutes of the Special meeting held on 15 January 2019 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions to this Committee must be received in writing 4 working days before the date of the meeting.  Therefore please ensure questions are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5 pm on Friday 29 March 2019.

No questions were received.

Description of application – Phased redevelopment of Allied Bakeries site.  Part demolition of former bakery.  Retention of original office and tower.  Redevelopment and alterations to retained distribution warehouse and workshop.  Creation of two new industrial units for B1(b), B1(c), B2 and B8 uses including service road, yards, parking and landscaping.

The Planning Officer gave an update on the report as follows:-

·  Only five trees would now be removed with two maple trees at the front of the site being retained.

·  The indicative soft landscaping scheme proposed the planting of 21 trees 4-5m in height.

·  Landscaping condition 9 would be updated to reflect the tree removals and to secure the minimum number and size of trees on the indicative landscaping plan.

·  Parking provision was reduced to 170 spaces.  Page 14, bullet point 1, and page 38, paragraph 4 had been amended to reflect this.  Contrary to TfL’s comments, Highways Officers were confident that the proposed number of spaces would not lead to a demand for on-street parking.

·  The first sentence of paragraph 2 on page 35 was amended to read:- ‘To the north elevation of the retained part of the existing warehouse, a 9.5m wide (approx..) extension will be provided along with a new external wall fitted with structural metal cladding panels and a dual pitched roof.’

·  Condition 2 was amended to update drawing numbers following submission of a revised site plan showing the addition of eight short stay cycle hoops (16 spaces).

Contrary to that stated in the report, no objections to the application had been received.

Committee Member and Ward Member Councillor Bear fully supported the application.  This was an important site within the Cray Valley Business Corridor and she welcomed its renovation subject to the proposed conditions, especially those relating to the replanting of trees and the parking provision.  While no objections had been received from residents, there were concerns that parking did not overspill onto the surrounding roads.  Councillor Bear moved that the application be granted.

Councillor Terry considered the application to be reasonable and in keeping with the existing industrial use within the area.  Conditions 24 and 25 would ensure that any future change of use would need to be considered via new planning applications.  Councillor Terry seconded the motion to grant permission.

Referring to Public Transport Accessibility Levels (PTALs), Councillor Fawthrop stated that Transport for London assumed that people who live next to a train station would travel by train; similarly those residing near bus stops would use the bus but anyone living near a road would not wish to travel by car.  PTALs were flawed as they were not based on destination points.  In his view there could never be more than enough parking spaces.

Condition 19 (page 50) proposed that electric vehicle charging points would be provided to a minimum of 20%.  Councillor Fawthrop moved that this be increased to 25% as set out in the London Plan.  The Planning Officer advised that the proposed 20% complied with the current London Plan and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Report DRR/19/021

In line with Government guidance, an updated five year housing land supply paper was usually reviewed by Members on an annual basis.  The last paper was agreed by the Development Control Committee on 16^th November 2017.

In November 2018, following an initial update, Members agreed that the November 2017 position should be extended in the short term until the next Paper was considered.  This would enable relatively recent publications of the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) to be assessed as they included updated guidance on the compilation of five year housing land supply papers.

A draft Five Year Housing Land Supply Paper was due to be considered by Members on 6^th February 2019 however, this meeting was cancelled due to concerns regarding the deliverability of some of the housing supply components in the Draft Five Year Housing Supply Paper. Those concerns had now been given due consideration.  The Paper was updated to incorporate further details relating to the monitoring of housing completions.

This report set out the five year housing land supply position for the Council from 1^st December 2018 – 30^th November 2023. It concluded that there was a deliverable five year housing land supply in the Borough.

The Legal Representative referred to correspondence received from the agent of an interested developer.  In relation to the content of this correspondence, the Council had taken the opportunity to consult with a barrister who was a specialist in planning matters.  The barrister’s advice was reported to Members.

The Chief Planner advised that for ease of reference, a list of appendices and their page numbers had been circulated to Members.

The following paragraph numbers were inserted to replace ‘xxx’ on page 111 of Appendix 3:-

Paragraph 1, first sentence – ‘Paragraph 1.30 of the 5YHLS sets out that the Borough was attributed an annual average housing supply monitoring target of a minimum 641 units per annum in the 2016 London Plan.’

Paragraph 2, first and second sentences – ‘As specified in paragraph 2.19 of the 5YHLS 2019, an assessment has been made of the contribution that small sites (<0.25ha) have made to housing delivery from 2010/11 – 2017/18.  This data represents the most up-to-date data when the 5YHLS was compiled in line with the observations made by the Inspector who reported on the ‘Dylon’ decision (APP/G5180/W/16/314428) as made reference to in paragraph 2.7 of the Council’s 5YHLS.’

Paragraph 3 – ‘Paragraph 2.20 of the 5YHLS makes reference to the reasoning for including unit completions from the use of permitted development rights.’

Paragraph 4, final sentence – ‘Paragraph 2.22 of the 5YHLS sets out the Council’s reasoning behind this uplift.’

Paragraph 10, first sentence – ‘Paragraphs 2.59 to 2.62 of the 2019 5YHLS make reference to the fact that only sites that have commenced [accommodating 9+ units] are included in the supply.’

The final sentence of paragraph 2.20 (page 85 of the report), was amended to read:-  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

Report DRR19/023

Under a ‘Duty to Co-operate’, local planning authorities were required to identify cross-boundary issues and engage positively with neighbouring Boroughs when preparing their Local Plans.  In this regard, Members were given the opportunity to comment on Sevenoaks District Council’s Proposed Submission Local Plan (SDC). 

Members therefore reviewed key elements of the proposed submission Local Plan that could, potentially, impact adversely upon the London Borough of Bromley.

The Chairman advised that Sevenoaks were currently at an early stage of progressing their Local Plan.

Councillor Dean moved that the recommendation be agreed.  The Chairman seconded the motion.

RESOLVED that the suggested response to Sevenoaks District Council’s Draft Local Plan (Regulation 19) consultation be agreed.

Report DRR19/022

Members considered a report advising on the London Borough of Bexley’s consultation on its Local Plan preparation: Preferred approaches to planning policies and land-use designations (Regulation 18 consultation paper).  Member agreement was sought on the proposed responses having regard to Bromley’s Local Plan requirements, as part of its Duty to Co-operate.

As Ward Member for Chislehurst, Councillor Terry would have welcomed an indication of significant developments proposed for the Bromley/Bexley border.  The Planning Strategy Officer advised that the lack of specific detail regarding development, was due to the fact that Bexley’s development stage of the Local Plan was behind that of Sevenoaks.  The proposed response therefore, was more of a holding response until Bexley’s progression to the next stage.

Referring to community facilities and education, Councillor Dykes reported she had recently attended a School Places Working Group meeting where Members discussed migration figures for Bexley school children.  Councillor Terry’s point in relation to significant development on the Bromley/Bexley border was therefore key.  Councillor Dykes requested that Bromley be as proactive as possible in this regard.

RESOLVED that Bromley’s response to the London Borough of Bexley’s Local Plan Regulation 18 ‘Preferred approaches to planning policies and land-use designations’ consultation be agreed.

The Chairman moved that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the item of business listed below as it was likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

Councillor Fawthrop moved that as the appeal in question had been determined, the Minutes should no longer be considered as exempt information. The motion was seconded by Councillor Bennett.

RESOLVED that the exempt Minutes of the meeting held on 6 November 2019 be confirmed and signed as a correct record and that they be made available to the public.

(A public copy of the declassified Minutes can be found as a separate document on the Council’s website under the Development Control Committee meeting dated 4 April 2019.)