Agenda item

Single storey 3 bedroom dwellinghouse and associated works.

In the vote, 4 Members voted for the application and 4 voted against, with one Member not voting. The Chair, who had initially voted to approve the application, used his casting vote to approve the application subject to the conditions and in accordance with the officer’s recommendation laid out in the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development.

The Senior Planner, Charlotte Spencer, presented the report and offered clarity on the history of decisions on the site.

The Committee was addressed by an objecting resident, Edward Halford, who felt that the proposal would cause harm to the Protected Village Amenity Area (PVAA), the Conservation Area, listed buildings in the area and wider public amenity. An agent of the applicant, Simon Redman, addressed the Committee in support of the application. Members asked questions on the impact of the proposal on badger sets as well as the types of foundations that would be used and the impact of this, alongside soakaways, on drainage on site. Councillor Jessica Marshall of Comberton Parish Council addressed the Committee, representing the Parish Council’s view that the application should be rejected. Councillor Dr Lisa Redrup addressed the Committee as a local Member and represented the views of a number of residents who had concerns about the application and felt that permission should be refused.

Councillor Dr Richard Williams joined the meeting but, as he was not present for the duration of the discussion, would not vote on the application

In the debate, it was noted that a number of Members had received direct communications from residents regarding the application. The Committee was informed that, if the application was to be approved, any changes to the location of the soakaway could be dealt with by officers. Members discussed the “slinky” that would be part of the ground source heat pump, but were informed that this would be underground and thus would not be harmful to the PVAA. Opinion in the Committee was divided on a number of points:

• Badger sets- some Members felt that there was no evidence of badger activity in the area, whereas others questioned how up to date the ecological survey was

• Impact on the PVAA- some Members felt that the impact on the PVAA would be minimal, whereas others felt it would be notably detrimental

• Impact on the Conservation Area- some felt that the impact would be minimal and noted the lack of objection from the Conservation Officer, whereas others felt the impact on the Conservation Area was unacceptable

• Design- some felt that the modern design would bring a point of interest to the area and was not harmful, whereas others felt the design was not suitable and would be harmful to the historic character of the area

The Committee agreed that, if it were minded to refuse, the reasons for refusal would be the contravention of policies HQ/1, NH/11 and NH/14 of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan as well as National Planning Policy Framework legislation around harm to Conservation Areas and PVAAs.

In the vote, 4 Members voted for the application (Councillors Henry Batchelor, Dr Martin Cahn, Peter Fane and Geoff Harvey) and 4 voted against (Councillors Ariel Cahn, Bill Handley, Peter Sandford and Heather Williams)- Councillor Dr Richard Williams did not vote. The Chair, staying consistent with his initial vote, used his casting vote to approve the application subject to the conditions and in accordance with the officer’s recommendation laid out in the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development.