Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R P H Reid and M Hasan.

Councillor C L E Vernon wished it to be noted that in relation to agenda item 6.3 she had been present at parish council meetings where this had been discussed, but she had not expressed an opinion.

Councillor T J N Smith wished it to be noted that in relation to agenda item 7.1 and as disclosed on his DPI form, he had not discussed this agenda item with Sir Edward Leigh.  He also wished it to be noted that as he had not attended the site visit for agenda item 6.1, he would not be voting on that item.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 2 October 2023 be agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

NOTE: In relation to the comments raised under minute 40 by the local member, Cllr M Brookes, it was queried whether there was any update in relation to an end date for the DCO.  It was noted that the Local Impact Report had been submitted and formal representation would be made before the deadline of 7 November 2023.  It terms of an end date, a 40-year life span was projected in the application, and this would be what the Council would be advocating for.  Members were assured that decommissioning strategies were required for Development Consent Orders.

The notes of the site visit held on 23 October 2023 were received.

A report was received which invited the Committee to consider objections to a proposed pedestrian crossing facility in the village of Doddington at the location show on Appendix A to the report. 

The Programme Leader – Traffic introduced the report and shared a presentation which detailed the area under consideration. Two objections had been received from a nearby business and resident and both objected on the basis that the funding allocated to the crossing facility could be invested in alternative measures to address ongoing traffic issues within the village.  However, it was highlighted to the Committee that the funding provided was specific to the installation of pedestrian crossing facilities and so could not be utilised to introduce any of the alternative measures suggested.

Members commented that they were aware of the area under consideration and a pedestrian crossing was very much needed at this location.

On a motion by Councillor Mrs M J Overton MBE, seconded by Councillor I G Fleetwood, it was:

RESOLVED (Unanimous)

That the objections be overruled so that the crossing, as advertised, may be introduced.

A report was received which invited the Committee to consider objections to a proposed pedestrian crossing facility in the village of Great Gonerby, in the location shown at Appendix A to the report. 

The Programme Leader – Traffic introduced the report and shared a presentation which detailed the area under consideration. It was reported that four objections had been received with concerns that this would impact negatively on residents in terms of reduced privacy and increased noise and light from the signal heads.  The road markings would also prohibit stopping, loading and parking in the vicinity of several properties.  The Committee was advised that disturbance to residents could be mitigated in terms of the intensity of the audible signal could be adjusted during the day to reduce the sound levels and switched off at night.  The intensity of the signal head lamps would also be reduced in low light levels and at night. 

On a motion by Councillor I G Fleetwood, seconded by Councillor P A Skinner, it was:

RESOLVED (Unanimous)

That the objections be overruled so that the crossing, as advertised, may be introduced.

A report was received which invited the Committee to consider an objection to a bus stop clearway in Withern, A157, at the location shown at Appendix A to the report.

The Programme Leader – Traffic introduced the report and shared a presentation which detailed the area under consideration.  It was noted that one objection had been received which detailed concerns that the restriction on parking imposed by the clearway would displace delivery vehicles serving a nearby business to an area further along the road in front of private properties which would result in a reduction in access and daylight for residents.  The objector requested that the bus shelter was relocated to mitigate the pressure on parking.  Officer advised that site visits had indicated that such displacement of vehicles was unlikely given that it had been observed on each occasion that space for on street parking was plentiful.  In addition, it was noted that the bus shelter was well established at this location and there were no plans to relocate it.

On a motion proposed by Councillor I G Fleetwood, seconded by Councillor N Sear, it was:

RESOLVED (unanimous)

That the objection be overruled so that the clearway, as advertised, may be introduced.

Consideration was given to a supplementary report in relation to the planning permission sought by Breedon Trading Ltd to amend conditions attached to two existing planning permissions which related to their West Deeping Quarry, King Street, West Deeping.

The Applications Manager introduced the report and shared a presentation which detailed the area under consideration.  It was reported that the two applications sought to reduce the current stand-off distances between the permitted mineral extraction boundary and existing properties/receptors that lay within the site.  The first application (reference: S23/0102) sought to vary condition 3 of planning permission S19/0486 in order to reduce the stand-off distance from Crown Farm.  The second application (reference: S23/0103) sought to vary condition 2 of planning permission S19/0497 to reduce the stand-off distances from Rectory Farm, Crown Farm and The Lodge.  It was proposed to reduce the stand-off distances at Rectory Farm and Crown Farm from 100m to circa 25m and to reduce the distance from the quarry boundary/residential curtilage of Lodge Farm to around 30m.

At the meeting held on 4 September 2023, following consideration of the Officer’s report, the Planning and Regulation Committee resolved to defer making decisions on the two applications and to carry out a site visit.  The site visit took place on 23 October 2023 where members of the Committee were able to view the application site and its surroundings including the proposed additional areas of working and the sites’ proximity to Listed Buildings in and around the site.

Maria Cotton, Planning and Estates Manager (Breedon), addressed the Committee on behalf of the applicant and made the following points:

·       The planning applications before the Committee for consideration propose the reduction of the stand-off from three properties sitting within the existing operational landscape of West Deeping Quarry.  These proposals would bring the operations into line with those previously approved on the adjacent operations of King Street Quarry and deliver a more uniformed approach to the final landform of the area as a whole.

·       The proposal would ensure the avoidance of sterilisation of 200kt of sand and gravel.

·       The tonnages released by these proposals would equate to 6 – 9 months’ worth of sales but would be extracted over a period of 8 weeks within each of the three phases.  Breedon were more than happy to accept a condition to this effect.

·       It was also noted that, despite planning permission being granted until 21 February 2042, Breedon were expecting to have completed extraction of all minerals within the next 36 months.

·       The progressive restoration of the quarrying operations would continue at pace with more that 50% of the site being restored to final levels to date.  The proposals before the Committee did not alter the principal restoration and would offer a more natural final landform than that currently approved.

·       Reports prepared for these applications on hydrology, noise, dust ad cultural heritage showed that the approval and implementation of the proposals would not change the outcomes already formally approved.  the continuation of the noise, dust  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Consideration was given to a report which outlined an application by RJR (Eng) Ltd for planning permission for the use of land and buildings as an aggregate recycling facility including the installation and operation of a wash plant; excavation of ancillary freshwater and settlement lagoons/lakes; construction of internal roads, concrete apron for the storage of materials and boundary landscape bund, wheel wash and site office at Fern Cottage, Ings Lane, Bratoft.

The Applications Manager introduced the report and shared a presentation which detailed the areas under consideration and advised that there had been objections to this application from the local member, Environment Agency, National Trust, and the Highways and Lead Local Flood Authority.  A further objection had been received since the publication of the report and the concerns were of a similar nature to those already received.  It was noted that no objections had been received from Lincolnshire Police.

The Committee was advised that the main issues to be considered in the determination of this application were whether the location was suitable for the proposed development and if there was a need for a facility of this site, particularly in light of the low tonnages it would process.

The Applications Manager advised that the applicant had failed to demonstrate a proven need for this facility in this location or that this site was well located to be able to maintain this facility.  There was no weighbridge on site which would make it difficult for officers to monitor and control.  The officer recommendation was to refuse planning permission, and the reasons for this were detailed on page 114 of the report.

Mr Neil Cooper addressed the Committee on behalf of the applicant and made the following points:

·       This was a small-scale farm diversification scheme.  The Riggall family farmed 250 acres, half of which was currently under water.

·       The application was to process small amounts of building waste, where a builder would come with a vehicle with mixed stone, soil, gravel. The proposal was to wash the product and generate various streams of aggregate and stone.  The nearest stone from the coast was 40 miles away and the nearest sand and gravel was over 30 miles away.

·       The reason that this site was chosen was that it did accord with policy W7, where a former yard could be used, the applicant had not pursued an industrial estate location as to create the two lakes would require land which would cost around £500,000, and for a scheme of this scale would not be appropriate.

·       The applicant had received a visit from a Planning Enforcement team the previous week in relation to whether work had commenced and inspected the site.  It was acknowledged that there was a pile of rubble and stone but that came from Tritton Knoll and was given free and for use of the farm roads within the 250acre farm.

·       The district council target was for 800 houses per year, and so there was a lot of construction taking place.  It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Consideration was given to a report which detailed an application by G Webb Haulage Ltd to vary condition 5 of planning permission S19/0636 to allow tipper trucks (HGV’s), parked overnight on the site, to leave South Witham Quarry between the hours of 0600 and 0700 at South Witham Quarry, Mill Lane, south Witham.

The Applications Manager introduced the report and shared a presentation which detailed the area under consideration. In terms of consultation and publicity, an objection had been received from South Witham Parish Council, 12 representations at the time of publication of the report, these were all set out within the report.  A further representation was received following publication.  It was reported that an additional representation had been received over the weekend which had raised questions regarding the interpretation within the officer report and raised concerns around existing controls for dust, noise and traffic as well as the impacts of the earlier start that was proposed.

It was highlighted that the change in conditions would only apply to those HGV’s leaving the site, which would be pre-loaded the night before and would be restricted to eight HGV’s.  The operator would be required to adhere to the existing routing restrictions in order to minimise the impact on local residents.

The Committee discussed the application and some of the points raised included the following:

·       It was understood that this application was seeking to regularise work that was allegedly already taking place at the site.

·       If this change was approved, it was believed that this would be one of only two quarries in Lincolnshire which were allowed to start their movements at 6.00am.  South Witham was a residential area and lorries leaving the site already disturbed residents with a 7.00am start, with staff arriving earlier than this.  If this change was allowed there was a concern that residents would likely be disturbed from 5.30am, and it was queried how enforceable it was for the number of HGV’s leaving the site to be limited to eight.

·       There was also concern regarding setting a precedent for other applications locally.

·       The Lincolnshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan, policy DM3, stated that planning permission would be granted provided it did not generate unacceptable, adverse impacts arising from noise and traffic.  It was the view of the local member that this would cause an adverse impact earlier than 6.00am.

·       The local member expressed disappointment that the applicant had not engaged with the parish council or residents prior to submitting this application.

·       It was felt that the impact on residents of HGV’s leaving this site at 6.00am was likely to be significant. 

·       The rationale of restricting the number of HGV’s leaving the site to eight was also queried.

·       Concerns were raised regarding ‘mission creep’ in terms of the number of vehicle movements and there were further concerns that this would not be an enforceable condition.

·       It was noted that this quarry had been operating for a significant amount of time and members queried the need for this change  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Consideration was given to a report which outlined an application by West Burton Solar Project for an unrestricted duration Development Consent Order (DCO) for the construction, operation and maintenance of an energy solar park covering three separate land parcels covering approximately 900ha that would produce 480MW of energy that would be transferred to West Burton Sub Station via underground cable, on land to the north of Saxilby and south of Marton.  The Council was required to submit its Local Impact Report (LIR) for this application to the Examining Authority who would, following a six month examination, make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy, Security and Net Zero as to whether the Development Consent Order should be granted or not.

The Committee was advised that at the next meeting in December, members would have the opportunity to see a further report which would address the Council’s formal response to this application, but due to the timetable set by the Examining Authority, the deadline for submission of the Local Impact Report was 24 November 2023, the deadline for the Council’s formal comments was 6 December 2023, which enabled that report to come to the next meeting of the Planning and Regulation Committee.

It was requested that the recommendation was amended to give delegation to the Head of Planning to make amendments to the Local Impact Report prior to its submission on 24 November 2023.  It was noted that the comments of the Agricultural Land Classification specialist had not yet been received, but officers were assured that they would be received before the submission deadline.  It was highlighted that it would be necessary to make changes to the report that was in front of the Committee.

The Head of Planning introduced the report and shared a presentation which detailed the areas under consideration.   The report set out details in relation to the proposed development – West Burton 1, 2 and 3, the cable route corridor and the decommissioning arrangements.  The detailed appendix to the report set out the Council’s Local Impact Report, with areas of concern highlighted that related to the potential conflict in terms of landscape amenity, both in terms of the impact of this development on its own, and cumulatively with the other proposed developments in the area.  Concerns were also highlighted regarding archaeology and the amount of trenching which had been undertaken at the start of the pre-application process, which officers felt was insufficient to carry out a full assessment of the area.  It was requested that additional trial trenching was undertaken prior to the Secretary of State taking a decision on this application.  Another area of concern was in relation to potential highway conflicts, particularly in relation to West Burton 1 and the proposed construction route for vehicles.  The Highways officers were concerned that the proposed access route to the site was insufficient for the size of the vehicles.  The Local Impact Report also identified a conflict with the agricultural land classification, which was on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.