Agenda and minutes

Site visits earlier in the day were attended by Cllrs. C Gruen, P Gruen, K Brooks, S Hamilton and C Campbell.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against refusal of inspection of documents.

There were no exempt items.

There were no late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct. 

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

However, Cllr. Brooks advised the Panel of an interest in item 10 as the local ward member for Little London and Woodhouse. Cllr. Brooks said that she had had no involvement with the development company, any ‘campaigns’ relating to the development and would be considering this item with an open mind.

To receive apologies for absence (If any)

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. Heselwood. Cllr Peter Gruen attended the meeting as her substitute.

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the previous meeting held on 4^th July 2019.

(Copy attached)

RESOLVED – The minutes of the meeting held on 4^th July 2019, were approved as a correct record.

To consider any Matters Arising from the minutes.

There were no matters arising.

To consider a report by the Chief Planning Officer which seeks a Retrospective Variation of condition No.31 (boundary Treatment) of approval 14/02399/RM, to retain existing boundary treatment to plots 60 -63 to land at Fleet Lane, Oulton, Leeds 26.

(Report attached)

The report of the Chief Planning Officer requested Members consideration on a retrospective variation of condition 31 (boundary treatment) of approval 14/02399/RM, to retain existing boundary treatment to plots 60-63 on land at Fleet Lane, Oulton, Leeds, LS26.

This application had been considered by South and West Plans Panel at its meeting on 4^th July 2019, where Members had requested further clarity on land ownership and proposals for maintenance of the area.

Members were advised of the following points:

·  Since the application was last considered at Panel, the developer has undertaken further consultation and this period of consultation ended on 31^st July 2019. No further objections have been received to date.

·  The terraces houses were originally purchased by Leeds and Yorkshire Housing Association (L&YHA) to provide affordable housing.

·  When plot 60 was bought under a shared ownership scheme the owners queried the red line boundary as it extended beyond the fence that demarcated the garden. The owners were advised by L&YHA that they could remove the fence and extend their garden.

·  L&YHA had not been aware of the planning condition until the Council’s Enforcement Team became involved and explained the restrictions of the planning condition.

·  This application was submitted by L&YHA on behalf of plot 60 who wished to retain some of the changes that they had already made to their extended garden.

·  The owners of plot 60 have now bought the property outright, and have been fully aware and involved in the planning process.

·  The long term maintenance is to be undertaken by L&YHA with access gained through plot 60. Should the plot be sold and the future occupiers do not agree to this access, L&YHA will access the site using plot 63 which is still in their ownership.

·  Ant alternative access arrangement to be used by L&YHA for long term maintenance will require the approval of the Council before it can be utilised. The requirement is conditioned.

·  A landscape management plan is conditioned. Should this not be implemented or subsequently not maintained, the Council as LPA would be able to take enforcement action against a breach of condition.

In response to Member’s questions and comments the following discussions included:

·  Queried the access through the privately owned plot 60 rather than plot 63 which is still in the ownership of L&YHA. It was noted that access is already in place from plot 60 and plot 60 was in L&YHA ownership at the time this access was first implemented;

·  Estate contractors from L&YHA would maintain the boundary in accordance with the conditions set out in the submitted report;

·  Officers are not aware of any plans to make house owners pay for the maintenance work and this is part of the ongoing obligations to which L&YHA is subject, with assurances provided that this would be conditioned through the landscape management plan;

·  Request for more trees to be planted given the Council’s current commitment to Climate Emergency.

RESOLVED -  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To consider a report by the Chief Planning officer which sets out details of an application for the change of use of garage to form A1 retail unit at The Beauty House, 2 Haigh Moor Road, Tingley, WF3 1AA

(Report attached)

The Panel considered the report of the Chief Planning Officer which set out an application for the change of use of a garage to form A1 retail unit at The Beauty House, 2 Haigh Moor Road, Tingley, Wakefield, WF3 1AA.

Members had attended a site visit earlier in the day and photographs and plans were shown throughout the presentation.

Members were advised of the following points:

·  The garage is within the boundary of The Beauty House salon’s curtilage, which was granted permission for its existing use in November 2016;

·  The premises had previously been a post office, the ground floor was now a beauticians with a flat above;

·  There was parking to the front and sides for The Beauty House;

·  It was proposed that the garage door would be removed and replaced with a door and a window;

·  Unrestricted A1 retail use was proposed but in practice would involve the sale of beauty products, deli foods and hot drinks and soups, it was not intended that there would be an oven on the site as food preparation would be outsourced. There would be two small tables for customers inside;

·  Requested opening times were 8:00am – 7:00pm Mondays to Fridays, 9:30am to 6:30pm Saturdays and 10:00am to 4:00pm on Sundays and bank holidays;

·  Cllr. Mulherin had requested that the application be brought to Plans Panel raising concerns that the proposal would exacerbate the existing parking problems at the nearby junction, and that there was a possibility for future use as a café;

·  Objections had been received and were within the submitted report at paragraph 6.4 and included objections such as there is a café opposite, shops nearby, noise disturbance, change of the area’s character and loss of privacy/amenity for neighbours dwellings.

·  It was noted that some objections had been superseded as there was to be no use of the rear garden of the property and this restriction would be a condition. There would be no seating to the outside of the A1 retail unit;

·  The A1 retail unit was only to be operated by the owner or a family member and this restriction would be ensured by way of a condition;

·  Highways had raised no objections.

Mr West a neighbour attended the Plans Panel saying that he was speaking as an objector and on behalf of other neighbours. He informed the Panel of his concerns as follows:

·  The plans provided for Members detailing the proposals are unclear;

·  Highway issues;

·  Excessive opening hours;

·  There is a bus stop both sides of the site and the bus often rests here;

·  The car parking area is too small to fit 4 cars and there is no mention of parking for staff. There are parking issues in the area.

·  Shrub hedging – removed;

·  Haigh Moor Road has a wide turning into Westerton Road and would cause difficulties for vehicles coming out of the car park.

The applicant had been informed of the Plans Panel meeting in advance and right to attend Panel to speak  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To consider a report by the Chief Planning Officer which provides a Position Statement in respect of an application for residential development of 151 dwellings with community use area, café, gym, residents lounge, outdoor amenity area and roof terraces to land east of Carlton Gate and North of Clay Pit Lane, Leeds

(Report attached)

The report of the Chief Planning Officer set out a position statement for a residential development of 151 dwellings with community use area, café, gym, residents lounge, outdoor amenity area and roof terraces at land east of Carlton Gate and North of Clay Pit Lane.

Members had visited the site earlier in the day. Photographs and plans were shown throughout the presentation and discussions.

Members were informed that this position statement followed an earlier pre-application presentation which had been considered by Panel Members on the 14^th June 2018. The scheme at that time had been for 160 apartments consisting of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. This latest version presented a split level development up to 17 storeys providing 151 units of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments with communal facilities.

The Chair emphasised to Members that the matter was coming before Panel as a position statement, but giving the opportunity for Members to comment upon and give a ‘steer’ on the direction of travel for the overall development proposed at this site.

The site is Council owned and it was noted that discussions have been ongoing since the initial pre-application scheme was submitted in December 2017 and has been the subject of various amendments.

This latest version was to address the scale and massing of the previous proposals.

Members were advised of the following points:

·  This site features a bund which is used to mitigate sound from the ring road;

·  The area is residential with a number of tower blocks to the east of Lovell Park Road and South of the inner ring road;

·  The buildings around the development site are of a similar size and height;

·  Viability assessment of the District Valuer concludes that the scheme presented cannot viably support more than 12.5% of the units for affordable housing, although the developer is initially proposing 20% of the units be offered as affordable units under flexible rent mechanism;

·  This site is a legacy site which was part of the regeneration of Little London and has been marked for housing on the Site Allocation Plan (SAP);

·  The bund would be used as part of the development with robust landscaping and would provide a usable space for residents of the area including new tree planting;

·  All the trees on the site would be lost with the exception of the lime tree;

·  The proposal was for 3 frontages one to Clay Pit Lane, one to Lovell Park Road and one to The Circus;

·  The glazing would be used to alleviate the massing of the building which had different levels and parts of the building were to be in-stepped;

·  Undercroft parking for 20 vehicles;

·  Proposal for a village hall which could be used by the wider community;

·  Cycle parking;

·  Further work on the wind assessment was required to be undertaken before full planning agreed as concerns had been raised in relation to the wind effects on Clay Pit Lane and Lovell Park Road.

Cllr. Ahktar a local ward councillor and a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

To note that the next meeting will take place on Thursday, 5^th September 2019 at 1.30pm in the Civic Hall, Leeds.

The next meeting of South and West Plans Panel will be on Thursday 5^th September 2019, at 1.30pm.