Agenda and minutes

Councillors Smith, Garvani, Bithell, Bromley, L Buckley, Manaka, Rontree and Wray all attended site visits earlier in the day.

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.

There were no exempt items.

There were no formal late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

Members did not raise any interests. However, Councillor H Bithell made the Panel aware that she knew the applicant of Agenda Item 7 – 23/03811/FU – Children’s Care Home (C2) at No.8 Chatsworth Crescent, Pudsey, LS28 8LD, in a professional capacity and confirmed she will consider the application with an open mind.

Apologies were received on behalf of Councillor C Campbell and E Taylor.

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting held on 3^rd August 2023, for approval as a correct record.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the previous meeting held Thursday, 3^rd August 2023 be approved as an accurate record.

To receive the report of the Chief Planning Officer on Reserved Matters (appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale) application for 50 dwellings and 4 apartments to outline permission 21/10203/OT, on land at Owlcotes Road, Pudsey, Leeds.

Officers suggested that this application be deferred until a late date, further to new information that has been received following the publication of the agenda, that requires a further equality impact assessment to be carried out.

A motion was put forward to defer the application. This motion was moved and seconded, and the Panel unanimously voted in favour.

RESOLVED – That the application be moved to a future South and West Plans Panel meeting for consideration, subject to the relevant information being received.

To receive the report of the Chief Planning Officer on  application 23/03811/FU for the change of use from dwelling (C3) to Children’s Care Home (C2) at No.8 Chatsworth Crescent, Pudsey, LS28 8LD

The report of the Chief Planning Officer presented a change of use application from Dwelling (C3) to Children’s Care Home (C2) at No.8 Chatsworth Crescent, Pudsey, LS28 8LD.

Members of the Panel attended a site visit earlier in the day.

Photographs and slides were shown throughout the officer presentation, and the following information was provided:

·  The proposal is for the change of use of a dwelling house within the Use Class C3 to a residential home within Use Class C2.

·  The use class is intended to provide safe accommodation for children who have a bad start in life and are put into the care system.

·  The site is located in Pudsey, and the wider character of the area is residential with detached and semi-detached dwellings of single and two storey heights.

·  The current set up of the property comprises a detached 5-bedroom semi-detached dwelling, with a driveway down the side of the property and a garage to the rear.

·  The proposals will accommodate up to 3 children, typically aged between 10 – 16. Although there may be children aged between 8 – 17. There will be a 24 hour staffing system, with 48 hours on working time and 48 hours off; 1 of them residing in one of the bedrooms.

·  There is a condition proposed to control the number of children at any one time, 3 being the maximum.

·  The proposal is no different to the current layout and instead of 5 bedrooms being occupied, the proposal is for 3 of the bedrooms to be used by the children and 1 of them for the staff onsite at that particular time. The other bedroom is intended to be used as a staff office.

·  There is parking for up to 3-4 vehicles.

·  No physical or internal changes to the appearance are proposed.

·  The representations received raise concerns regarding noise and disturbance. Appeal decisions in the past relating to similar change of use applications have concluded that they do not have an impact on neighbours in terms of anti-social behaviour and disturbance.

·  The applicant must submit a range of documents to OFSTED for the regulation of a children’s home.

·  Officers do not believe that the scale of the application will be harmful to its surroundings and there are conditions in place to limit the number of children and staff.

Councillor Amanda Carter attended the meeting and set out her objections as follows:

·  The children’s home will be a commercial venture for the applicant and is a loss of a residential unit.

·  The emotional difficulties of a child can contribute to anti-social behaviour and disturbance as children with such difficulties find it hard to articulate themselves.

·  Concerns regarding not delivering a secure environment these children need.

·  The property is situated on a bend and there are concerns regarding accidents in that location. Chatsworth Crescent is a well-known rat run.

·  Councillor Carter suggested that the application be deferred until further evidence is looked at in terms of the impact of the proposals in this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

To consider the report of the Chief Planning Officer on a Reserved Matters application for 57 dwellings including provision of Public Open Space and associated infrastructure, relating to scale, layout appearance and landscaping pursuant to Outline Application 17/02068/OT at Land South of Pool Road, Pool in Wharfedale.

The report of the Chief Planning Officer presented a Reserved Matters application for 57 dwellings including provision of Public Open Space and associated infrastructure, relating to scale, layout, appearance and landscaping pursuant to Outline Application 17/02068/OT at Land South of Pool Road, Pool in Wharfdale.

Members of the Panel attended a site visit earlier in the day.

The officer explained that additional representations have been received from Councillors Barry and Caroline Anderson in terms of the building materials, relationship to the gas pipeline, drainage, and lack of consultation with residents. Late representations have also been received from residents regarding the width of the mounds and additional documentation being added online without consultation. It was noted that this information related to the house types and 3D representation of the plans and did not require consultation.

It was also noted that since publication of the submitted report, there is a proposal to increase the number of stone properties which is intended to create a more meaningful cluster at the front of the site, as well as amending boundary changes. In light of the changes, the officer suggested that the recommendation be altered to defer and delegate approval to the Chief Planning Officer, with amendments ultimately being approved by the Chair.

Photographs and slides were shown throughout the officer presentation and the following information was provided:

·  The proposal is for a residential development which lies to the South of Pool Road (A659) and is a greenfield site. The site is situation on the edge of the village of Pool-in-Wharfedale. The site is bordered by existing residential properties to the east.

·  The eastern side of the site lies within a Conservation Area.

·  Access to the site will be from Pool Road with a main spine road proposed along the western edge of the site and has been agreed through the outline planning consent.

·  The proposal will provide 20 affordable houses in a mix of 12 two-bedroom houses, 6 three-bedroom houses and 2 four-bedroom houses.

·  A landscape and biodiversity buffer zone are proposed to run outside the site along its western edge. This buffer zone is also proposed to accommodate a cycle and pedestrian pathway which will form part of the future Wharfedale Greenway route. Part of this buffer zone falls within an area of land accommodating an underground high pressure gas pipeline. The gas pipeline runs to the western part of the site. Northern Gas have objected to the application and the applicant will need to evidence compliance with the Northern Gas Networks’ publication Safe working in the vicinity of Northern Gas Networks high pressure gas pipelines and associated installations in relation to the East Bierley – Pannel High Pressure Pipeline. Separate consent will be required from Northern Gas before works are carried out near the gas pipeline.

·  There are 3 main greenspaces to the northern and southern parts of the site with a central public green space. This is the same as what was proposed previously, and the inspector did not object to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

To consider the report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for the erection of a 120 capacity Wedding Venue, 40 Holiday Lodges, and a Cafe/Community Hub building at Fleet Lane Oulton Leeds LS26

The report of the Chief Planning Officer presented a position statement on an application for the erection of a 120 capacity wedding venue, 40 holiday lodges and a café/community hub building at Fleet Lane, Oulton, Leeds, LS26.

Photographs and slides were shown throughout the officer presentation, and the following information was provided:

·  The site is a fuel depot, currently unused for that purpose, situated within the Green Belt between Woodlesford and Allerton Bywater. The site is situated on a portion of land surrounded by the River Aire and the Aire and Calder Navigation.

·  The site is allocated in the Natural Resources and Waste DPD as a protected wharf under policy Minerals 13. There are only 3 protected wharfs in Leeds, with only 1 in use.

·  The wedding venue is proposed to sit in the centre of the site with the holiday lodges spread across the site with a network of various paths.

·  There will be car parking spaces for each of the lodges.

·  It is proposed that there will be 40 holiday lodges, ranging from 1-bed, 2-bed and 4-bed as well as a honeymoon suite.

·  To the north of the site is where the community hub / café is proposed. This will be for customers to the wedding venue or lodges and will have a green roof and solar panels.

·  There will be increased biodiversity onsite with 196 trees proposed to be planted.

·  The site is proposed to be raised 3-4m above ground levels.

·  The proposals are intended to be contemporary in design with large, glazed windows.

·  There is a proposed roof terrace and bar, with lift access.

·  There are several objections from Commercial Boat Operators Association, West Riding Branch od Inland Waterways Association and residents. As well as several comments of support from residents, Swillington Ings Bird Group, Leeds Civic Trust, and Oulton and Woodlesford Neighbourhood Forum.

·  Matters that remain outstanding for consideration relate to the loss of a protected wharf site, the impact on the Greenbelt, flooding of the site, access of the site, scheme raised above ground level and will be spread across the site, the main access to the site is narrow and has poor foot links and transport.

Councillor Golton, a supporter of the application attended the meeting and provided the following information:

·  The proposals have the endorsement of local ward councillors and the wider community.

·  The application is unfairly weighted towards an officer refusal recommendation.

·  The fully Adopted Local Plan has not been used when considering the proposals. The Plan shows how the proposals will fit in with the geography and policies referred to are outdated.

·  The proposals will increase leisure usage of the area and an enhanced leisure destination.

·  Officers object to parking in the Greenbelt, but the proposals formalise what is already onsite.

·  The Canals and Rivers Trust provides no parking or little bin facilities.

·  The adjacent RSPB St Aidan’s is a major attraction, with only 1 official car park located 2.3m away.

·  Comments as written by the officers in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

To note that the next meeting of South and West Plans Panel will be on Thursday 26^th October 2023 at 1.30pm.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Thursday, 26^th October 2023 at 1.30 p.m.

The meeting concluded at 17.10.