Agenda item

To authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 July 2006 as a correct record, subject to the further consideration of Minute no. 31 (Moor Drove, Histon) – the Assistant Solicitor to clarify at the meeting.  The Minutes as a whole will be available on the Council’s website, but a copy of Minute no. 31 is attached to the agenda.

The Committee authorised the Chairman to sign, as a correct record, the Minutes of the meeting held on 5^th July 2006, subject to clarification of Minute no. 31 relating to Moor Drove, Histon, and to the addition thereto of Councillor SGM Kindersley’s declaration of a personal interest as a Cambridgeshire County Councillor and by virtue of having met the occupants and nearby residents when Leader of the Council.

The clarification required was in relation to paragraph 50 of the Report presented to Members on 5^th July.  The Assistant Solicitor felt that there had been some ambiguity about Members’ position on the points set out in the second part of that paragraph.  Members confirmed that it was their view that there had not been a significant change in the relevant considerations but, to the extent that there was any doubt about this, there were nevertheless good reasons not to give the benefit of such doubt to the applicant.   Members agreed that, as the development was already in existence, and continued to cause the very harm that had led to the original refusal of planning consent, this created a need to facilitate enforcement action and resist the attempt by the applicant to put pressure on the Council to allow him to stay. 

The Assistant Solicitor referred Members to the contents of a letter, dated 1^st August 2006 and from the Community Law Partnership, which raised several issues which it had asked to be referred to the Development and Conservation Control Committee.

The letter queried whether Councillors MJ Mason and Mrs DP Roberts should have declared personal interests and not voted due to their alleged friendship with neighbours of the applicant.  The Assistant Solicitor stated that the ultimate decision as to whether or not to declare an interest was one for individual Members to make, but that Members would only be prevented from voting on a matter if their interest was personal and prejudicial.  It was noted that Councillor Mason was no longer a Member of the Development and Conservation Control Committee but that he had spoken on the issue as the local Member.  Councillor Mrs Roberts explained that, while she knew of the residents involved, this was purely on a professional basis and she had never actually visited them.  Councillor Mason was not present to comment.

The Head of Planning dealt with the planning points raised in the letter.  In respect of the provision of sites and the investigation of suitable locations for such sites in the District, he stated that this work was required to inform the draft Local Development Framework but added that it would not be appropriate to delay determination of this planning issue until the Council had adopted that Framework.  This point had been covered in the original report to Members.

The Head of Planning stated that the highway issue raised by the Community Law Partnership was one that had been fully covered in the original report to Members.  He pointed out that the County Highway Engineer had recently reaffirmed his objection based on highway safety.  Furthermore, if an acoustic fence was likely to have been an effective solution, this would have been identified at the planning appeal. Practically, it was not a viable solution.

The final point raised in the letter was to be dealt with by the Assistant Solicitor who would consider the request of the Community Law Partnership to delay enforcement action.

Those Members present, who had been present at the end of the Development and Conservation Control Committee meeting held on 5^th July 2006 and had voted on this item then, REAFFIRMED the decisions made at that time.  Councillor Dr JPR Orme had not been present at that meeting, and did not vote on this occasion either.