Agenda and minutes

  Whilst the intention had been to hold the meeting in committee rooms 6 and 7 of the Civic Hall, in view of the number of public present for the meeting, the Chair announced that the meeting would take place in the Council Chamber and there was a short delay to enable the move to take place

  Following the relocation, the Chair asked Members and Officers to introduce themselves for the benefit of the public in attendance

  There were no late items

  There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary or other interests

  Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J Procter who was substituted for by Councillor G Latty

To approve the minutes of the North and East Plans Panel meeting held on 20^th December 2012

(minutes attached)

  RESOLVED -  That the minutes of the North and East Plans Panel meeting held on 20^th December 2012 be approved

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for Change of Use of vacant public house to community and welfare centre, with ancillary accommodation and additional car parking

(report attached)

  Plans, photographs and drawings were displayed at the meeting.  A Members site visit had taken place earlier in the day

  Officers presented a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for a change of use of a vacant public house to a community and welfare centre with ancillary accommodation and additional car parking at The Lingfield, Lingfield Drive LS17

  The location of the premises was outlined in respect of the surrounding area, with Members being informed of the location of nearby shops and residential properties

  The proposed uses of the premises were outlined with Members being informed that the community rooms would be available for hire with discounts being proposed for groups in the LS17 postcode area.  The planned opening hours would be 8.30am – 10.30pm, except during Ramadan, where the prayer room would be open after 10.30pm but the numbers using the prayer room would be restricted to 65 people

  Outside the premises, an area of unmarked hardstanding would be marked out for 73 spaces which would include cycle parking and disabled parking spaces.  An unauthorised fence had been removed and a close-boarded fence and planting was proposed

  Members were informed that the main issues related to:

·  Principle of development – that the proposal was for a community building; this was an appropriate use in principle and would bring a disused building back into use, although this would need to be weighed against concerns, for example, highways safety

·  Parking – that the amount of parking being proposed was acceptable subject to a condition regarding the layout

·  Noise and amenity – that the previous use of the premises was as a public house.  In terms of the opening hours, LCC Environmental Health had been consulted who were satisfied with the proposed conditions and the restriction of the numbers able to access the prayer room after 10.30pm during Ramadan

Members were informed that a key consideration was community cohesion and equality and that concerns had been raised locally.  The Council had a duty under Section 149 of  the Equality Act 2010 to foster good community relations between people who shared a protected characteristic and people who do not share it. “Protected characteristics” covered by the Equality Act include race and religion or belief. This duty was a material planning consideration, to which the Panel would need to have due regard  when reaching a decision on the application

  Members were informed of the receipt of an additional 60 letters of objection which repeated previous issues which had been raised regarding highways safety, noise and disturbance, not a sustainable form of development and impact on the character of the area

  If minded to approve the application, it was recommended to reword condition 6 to delete the reference to prohibiting PA systems within the building and to add a further condition requiring that if such systems were installed, details of use, specification etc be submitted and approved in writing prior to use

  Members were also informed that condition 15 specifying the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on applications for Change of Use involving alterations and single storey side extension of vacant public house to form seven flats and erection of detached retail unit with flat above and associated Listed Building application

(report attached)

  Plans, photographs and drawings were displayed at the meeting.  A Members site visit had taken place earlier in the day

  Officers presented the report which sought full planning permission and Listed Building consent for the refurbishment of the vacant Royal Oak Public House at Kippax LS25

  Members were informed that the premises had been vacant since early 2011 and was a prominent building in the Kippax area

  The building would be stripped back to its existing frontage and recent additions at the rear would be removed.  This would also provide an opportunity to extend the footpath

  An earlier scheme had proposed a modern extension to contain 6 flats but this had now been deleted from the scheme

  A previous concern raised by English Heritage had been withdrawn on receipt of the revised plans.  A room by room assessment would be made of the building’s original features

  A dual-fronted retail unit was proposed with a 2 bedroom flat above this, with a separate entrance.  The design of this unit had also been revised and was a more simple proposal than previously submitted

  Members were informed that the deletion of the modern extension had removed many local concerns about the proposal, although concerns remained about the loss of a local pub, with Councillors Wakefield and J Lewis raising this issue.  Members were informed that other pubs existed in the area and the proposals would bring a Listed Building back into use.  Additional benefits from the proposals would be the widening of the footpath and the provision of a green area around the site

  If minded to approve the application, an extra condition was proposed for the Listed Building application to require the reinstatement of the missing chimney.  Condition no 9 was proposed to be reworded to take into account the footpath widening

  Members commented on the following matters:

·  highways safety issues

·  loss of another public house

·  the concerns of the Parish Council and whether these had been addressed

·  the importance of retaining the balance of the property by the requirement of reinstating the missing chimney

·  the need to consider possible opening hours of the retail unit if it was to be an Off Licence

Officers provided the following responses:

·  that moving the wall back into the site would improve the visibility splay

·  that the detailed wording of some of the conditions had taken on board concerns raised by Kippax Parish Council

·  that opening hours of the retail unit would be controlled by condition and whilst these had not been specified, they were likely to be the standard hours of 08:00 – 22:00

The Head of Planning Services suggested that a condition in respect of materials for the retail unit be added and the design of any security grills on the shop unit to be agreed with the applicant.  In the event that the retail unit was not constructed, some treatment be included for that part of the site

RESOLVED -  That the planning application and Listed Building consent be granted subject to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for single storey detached outbuilding forming ancillary living accommodation to rear

(report attached)

  Plans and photographs were displayed at the meeting.  A Members site visit had taken place earlier in the day

  Officers presented the report which sought permission for a single storey detached outbuilding to form ancillary living accommodation on land at the rear of 30 Upland Road LS8

  Members were informed that the proposed conditions had been drawn up to restrict the use of the building as a separate dwelling unit, which had been a particular concern to local people

  RESOLVED -  That the application be granted subject to the conditions set out in the submitted report

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for part single storey and part two storey side extension with Juliet balcony to rear

(report attached)

  Plans, photographs and drawings were displayed at the meeting.  A Members site visit had taken place earlier in the day

  Officers presented the report which sought permission for extensions to the existing property at 10 Montagu View LS8

  Whilst the plans showed the presence of windows in the side elevation, these were at a high level and would be obscure glazed and fixed shut

  In terms of the proposed Juliet balcony, whilst not being a feature seen extensively in the area, one other such balcony existed close by so this could not be considered as being alien to the area

  The receipt of further representations from local residents were reported with Members being informed that these representations contained additional conditions.  Having considered these, Officers were of the view they could not be recommended to Panel as they were not felt to be reasonable

  The Panel heard representations from an objector and the applicant who attended the meeting

  RESOLVED -  That the application be granted subject to the conditions set out in the submitted report

Thursday 21^st March 2013 at 1.30pm in the Civic Hall, Leeds

  Thursday 21^st March 2013 at 1.30pm in the Civic Hall, Leeds