Decisions

1.    Fulbourn Parish Council is preparing a Neighbourhood Plan and has reached the stage of pre-submission consultation (Regulation 14 in the national guidance).  At this stage it is the responsibility of the parish council to carry out a public consultation on the neighbourhood plan for their area. We congratulate the Neighbourhood Plan team and recognise the hard work has been put into the preparation of this plan for Fulbourn by the parish council and local community.

2.    Officers have considered the contents of the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan against the basic condition tests that all neighbourhood plans are assessed against by an independent examiner (these tests include such matters as general conformity with national planning policy and the policies of the adopted  Local Plan).

3.    Through this consideration several comments have been identified.

4.    Cabinet agreed on the 26^th July 2018 that the submission of such comments be delegated to officers at this stage of plan preparation.

5.    The proposed comments include both general and specific matters and are attached at Appendix A.  They include such matters as

• Clear unambiguous policies
• Mapping
• Comments on all the policies and proposals of the plan itself

6.    The comments are intended to enable the group taking forward the Neighbourhood Plan to consider the need to amend it to improve the likelihood that a NP examiner would be able to recommend that it proceed to referendum and to help ensure that the plan is capable of effective implementation through the development management process.

7.    While there are several comments set out in Appendix A we hope that these comments are seen, not  as unhelpful criticism of the plan, but rather a genuine attempt by  officers to support the NP team by identifying a number of areas where the plan could be further refined so that it is successful at examination. We wish the parish council well for the next steps in the plan making

That the Joint Director for Planning and Economic, having liaised with the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning agrees the response to the pre- submission consultation on the Fulbourn Neighbourhood Plan by South Cambridgeshire District Council as set out in Appendix A.

All planning applications for Shudy Camps considered by the Planning Committee since May 2003. For individual reports, please click on the ‘Meetings’ tab above. For further details on all Shudy Camps planning applications, please visit our Planning Applications Database and select Shudy Camps from the drop-down list of parishes

By ten votes to nil with one abstention, the Committee approved the application subject to the Conditions and Informatives set out in the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development.

(Councillor Cahn abstained)

All planning applications for Fulbourn considered by the Planning Committee since May 2003. For individual reports, please click on the “Meetings” tab above. For further details on all Fulbourn planning applications, please visit our Planning Applications Database and select Fulbourn from the drop-down list of parishes.

By six votes to four, with one member not voting, the Committee approved the application subject to the Conditions set out in the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development.

(Councillors John Batchelor, Bradnam, Cahn, Fane, Milnes, and Roberts voted to approve the application, Councillors Hawkins, Heather Williams, Richard Williams, and Wright voted to refuse. Councillor Daunton did not take part in the debate and did not vote.)

All planning applications for Fowlmere considered by the Planning Committee since May 2003. For individual reports, please click on the “Meetings” tab above. For further details on all Fowlmere planning applications, please visit our Planning Applications Database and select Fowlmere from the drop-down list of parishes.

By affirmation, Committee deferred the application to give the applicant an opportunity to submit a new ownership certificate. New consultation would then take place, following which the application would be presented to Committee for determination.

All Planning Applications for Little Abington considered by the Planning Committee since May 2003. For individual reports, please click on the ‘Meetings’ tab above. For further details on all Little Abington Planning Applications, please visit our Planning Applications Database and select Little Abington from the drop-down list of parishes.

By seven votes to four, the Committee refused the application contrary to the recommendation in the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development. Members agreed the reasons for refusal as being:

Reason 1: PVAA Encroachment / Impact

The application site is located adjacent to, and partially within, a Protected Village Amenity Area which provides a significant contribution to the legibility of the village, maintaining an important area of open land at the centre of the village that supports the rural character, amenity and sense of tranquillity of Little Abington.

The proposed development, by virtue of its encroachment into this Protected Village Amenity Area, would undermine the undeveloped nature and rural character at the centre of the village, failing to preserve the local rural character, amenity and sense of tranquillity of the area or provide a place-responsive, and legible form of development. The proposal would therefore fail to accord with Policies S/7, HQ/1 and NH/11 of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 and the provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework 2019, particularly paragraphs 127 and 130.

Reason 2: Character / Heritage Impact

The proposed development, by virtue of its siting, scale and massing would significantly erode the relatively undeveloped nature of the application site and its rural quality, which contributes positively to the existing character of the Conservation Area. The siting of Plots 1 and 6, being located adjacent to the public highway, would represent an overly dominant and prominent form of development which would detract from the character and appearance of the conservation area.

Furthermore, by virtue of their siting, Plots 1 and 6 would be evident in street scene views to the south towards Church of St Mary the Virgin, a Grade II* Listed Building, impacting on its setting. When viewed from the east, along the public right of way, views of the Church would be further eroded due to the inappropriate scale and massing of the proposed development.

The proposal would therefore fail to preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and setting of the Church of St Mary the Virgin. It is not considered that the proposal results in public benefits that would outweigh the harm to the significance of the Conservation Area and the Grade II* listed church.

The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies HQ/1 and NH/14 of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 that require development proposals to sustain and enhance the significance of heritage assets, including their settings, as appropriate to their significance, the Council’s Listed Building and Conservation Area Supplementary Planning Documents and the provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework 2019, chapter 16.

(Councillors Cahn, Fane, Hawkins, and Milnes voted to approve the application. Councillors John Batchelor, Bradnam, Daunton, Roberts, Heather Williams, Richard Williams, and Wright voted to refuse.)

All planning applications for Steeple Morden  considered by the Planning Committee since May 2003. For individual reports, please click on the ‘Meetings’ tab above. For further details on all Steeple Morden  planning applications, please visit our Planning Applications Database and select Steeple Morden  from the drop-down list of parishes

By affirmation, the Committee approved the application subject to the Conditions set out in the report from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development.