Agenda and minutes

Information on public speaking is available online

Councillor Ian Barlow, on behalf of Sidmouth Town Council, welcomed the council’s approach to consulting and listening.  He acknowledged the council’s difficulty in meeting the Government’s expectations for housing allocations and hoped that the proposed allocations for the towns had been done practically rather than each town having to take a share.  He advised that Sidmouth Town Council objected to all the suggested sites as they fell within the AONB and said that under national policy development should only be considered if it cannot be developed elsewhere.  Strong objection was expressed for Sidm_06 at Sidford as not only was it within the AONB but was protected under Policy 3 of the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan and he urged Members to look again for potential new sites.  On a personal point of view Councillor Barlow welcomed the new administration and hoped they would listen and act for the good of the people and make the right decisions and not just the easy ones.

Councillor Roger Giles, on behalf of Ottery St Mary Town Council, offered his condolences for the loss of Councillor Val Ranger.  He said she was a lovely exceptional councillor and will be missed very much.  On behalf of Ottery St Mary Town Council he expressed concern for the level of housing and sites proposed and reminded Members that Ottery St Mary had already seen 25% more development than any other town in the current Local Plan and that the town was less sustainable than others.  He referred to Exmouth advising that it was ten times the size of Ottery St Mary and had only been allocated a growth of less than 2%.  He strongly opposed the inclusion of Otry_09 (GH/ED/28) which the Planning Committee had previously refused stating that the reason for refusal was that the proposed development was located in the countryside, outside of the built up area boundary with no planning policy support for residential development in this location.

Andy Roberts, on behalf of the North East Exmouth Residents Group, spoke about Lymp_10 and Lymp_15 expressing concern that the sites were unsustainable as they were a long way from almost all facilities and he did not understand how any footpath could be provided from the site down Hulham Road.  He advised that the North East Exmouth Residents Group acknowledged the issues Members faced regarding constraints and restrictions but could not understand about the lack of strategic thinking and focus that would help reduce building more houses in Exmouth.  He urged Members to focus on providing additional homes through development at the proposed new town near Hill Barton with a much higher target number of dwellings in the plan period.  He also urged Members to look harder at brownfield sites and encouraging landowners in Exmouth town centre to develop affordable houses that were sustainable.

Margaret Leppard, on behalf of the Seaton Flood Working Group, asked that in light of recent extensive flooding in Seaton and adolescent sustainable drainage technology in new builds would the Strategic Planning Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

Members accepted the minutes of the consultative Strategic Planning Committee on 12 July 2022.

Guidance is available online to Councillors and co-opted members on making declarations of interest

Minute 21. Presentations from invited developers and agents promoting major sites at Tier 1 & 2 settlements which are recommended for allocation or as second choice sites for allocation by officers.

Councillor Jess Bailey, Affects Non-registerable Interest, As a Devon County Councillor, as Devon County Council will be presenting a site in Ottery St Mary.

Minute 21. Presentations from invited developers and agents promoting major sites at Tier 1 & 2 settlements which are recommended for allocation or as second choice sites for allocation by officers.

Councillor Paul Hayward, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Employed by Axminster Town Council; site GH/ED/83 is immediately adjacent to the estate where I live.

Minute 22. Site selection for the emerging East Devon Local Plan 2020 - 2040 - interim findings at Tier 1 & 2 settlements.

Councillor Dan Ledger, Affects and prejudicial Non-registerable Interest, Neighbouring resident for site Seat_02 and during the course of the meeting withdrew Affects and prejudicial Non-registerable Interest after review of map originally declared for Axmi_07 father rents land from Axminster Carpets.

Minute 22. Site selection for the emerging East Devon Local Plan 2020 - 2040 - interim findings at Tier 1 & 2 settlements.

Councillor Jess Bailey, Affects Non-registerable Interest, As a Devon County Councillor, Devon County Council's site in Ottery St Mary will be part of discussions.

Minute 22. Site selection for the emerging East Devon Local Plan 2020 - 2040 - interim findings at Tier 1 & 2 settlements.

Councillor Olly Davey, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Resident of Exmouth.

Minute 22. Site selection for the emerging East Devon Local Plan 2020 - 2040 - interim findings at Tier 1 & 2 settlements.

Councillor Paul Hayward, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Employed by Axminster Town Council.

Minute 22. Site selection for the emerging East Devon Local Plan 2020 - 2040 - interim findings at Tier 1 & 2 settlements.

Councillor Paul Hayward, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Employed by Axminster Town Council; Sites GH/ED/83 and GH/ED/83 are immediately adjacent to the estate where I live.

Minute 22. Site selection for the emerging East Devon Local Plan 2020 - 2040 - interim findings at Tier 1 & 2 settlements.

Councillor Philip Skinner, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Exmo_Local Plan Rep Site - Land north east of Old Bystock Drive.

Minute 22. Site selection for the emerging East Devon Local Plan 2020 - 2040 - interim findings at Tier 1 & 2 settlements.

Councillor Philip Skinner, Affects and prejudicial Non-registerable Interest, Exmo_07 - Bystock Court, Old Bystock Drive.

Non-Committee Member

Minute 21. Presentations from invited developers and agents promoting major sites at Tier 1 & 2 settlements which are recommended for allocation or as second choice sites for allocation by officers.

Councillor Sarah Jackson, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Interest withheld under Section 32 of the Localism Act 2011.

Minute 22. Site selection for the emerging East Devon Local Plan 2020 - 2040 - interim findings at Tier 1 & 2 settlements.

Councillor Sarah Jackson, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Interest withheld under Section 32 of the Localism Act 2011.

Information on matters of urgency is available online

There were no matters of urgency.

To agree any items to be dealt with after the public (including the Press) have been excluded. Thereare no itemswhich officersrecommendshould be dealtwithin thisway.

There were no confidential/exempt items.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and announced that as Chair he was proposing to amend the first recommendation for the proposed site allocations to read as following:

That the Strategic Planning Committee recommend that the proposed site allocations in this committee report may proceed to consultation.

The following presentations were presented to Members.

Coral Curtis, Grass Roots Planning

GH/ED/83 – Land at Chard Road, Axminster

·         Site boundary is 8.46 hectares (21 acres) of agricultural land;

·         Existing access to football club from A358;

·         River Axe on northern boundary and railway line on western boundary;

·         Hedgerows dividing the site;

·         Pedestrian footpath within site boundaries provides easy access to town centre and train station;

·         Main constraints include:

Ø  The site slopes downwards north and west into the River Axe;

Ø  Access from the A358 with additional points for connectivity from the site into the existing footpath;

Ø  Two existing Pill Boxes on the site;

Ø  Weycroft Hall Grade I and Weycroft Manor Grade II Listed Buildings located off site;

·         Proposal for 150 dwellings including affordable in a highly accessible and sustainable location;

·         Pedestrian links to existing footpaths;

·         Proposed access from the A358/Chard Road will provide new access to football club and new floodlights and ball stop fencing proposed for the club;

·         Biodiversity net gain of 35% habitat units and 10% hedgerow units.

Questions raised by Members included:

o   Clarification sought about why the proposal was for 150 dwellings when the emerging Plan states 100 homes and employment land.  In response Ms Curtis advised it was on the assumption it would be a residential led scheme but sought advice from Members about whether there was a need for employment land.

o   Clarification sought about whether the permissive path leading from Weycroft to Millwey Rise would be retained.  In response it was confirmed the path on the eastern side would be retained.

o   Clarification sought on the length of time to establish a wetlands mitigation site adjacent to the proposed site.  Ms Curtis advised it would be delivered at the same time as the development and the mitigation would incorporate a reed bed matting system which would take effect immediately.

o   Clarification sought on what percentage of affordable housing would be delivered and whether there would be a travel plan.  Ms Curtis advised the percentage would be determined by the Local Plan viability assessment.

o   Clarification sought about whether there would be sufficient funds for other infrastructure after installing the wetlands mitigation.  Ms Curtis advised that calculations show that the infrastructure requirements can be delivered.

o   Clarification sought about whether there were plans to turn the permissive path down to Weycroft Bridge into a pavement.  Ms Curtis advised this could be taken into consideration.

Sarah R Smith, Rapleys & Charlotte Sythes, The Crown Estate (TCE)

GH/ED/80 – Land east of Axminster

·         Proposal for up to 300 dwellings served off a shared access from Lyme Road extending over Sector Lane to deliver 75 homes on Persimmon land and 225 on TCE land to south  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

This report provides further detail on the process for considering which sites should be allocated for development in the emerging Local Plan.

Before introducing Ed Freeman, Service Lead – Planning Strategy and Development Management to present his report the Chair reminded Members of his proposal to change the first recommendation in fear that Members would not be ready to endorse the preferred sites. 

The first recommendation would read as follows:

That Strategic Planning Committee recommend that the proposed site allocations in this committee report may proceed to consultation.

The Committee considered a report from the Service Lead – Planning Strategy and Development Management that provided Members with further detail on the process for considering which sites should be allocated for housing development in the emerging Local Plan. 

He addressed the morning’s developer presentations and acknowledged Members key concerns were about landscape designations, environmental impacts, infrastructure provision and the delivery of affordable housing and advised these would need to be mitigated through the planning process and the Community Infrastructure Levy.  A further key concern was about the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and how much weight should be given.  He acknowledged this important issue and referred Members to the reference in the national planning policy framework on page 14 of the agenda.

Members were reminded at the last meeting the Service Lead – Planning Strategy and Development Management advised there had been a significant shortfall in housing delivery.  He referred to the net housing supply forecast table in paragraph 5.3 and advised that following further officer assessments of the towns this figure had now doubled and emphasised the need for Members to be flexible when considering the sites in each of the towns.

The Chair addressed the Committee about today’s meeting and asked Members for a direction of travel and suggested the following recommendations:

That Strategic Planning Committee:

1.    Recommend that the proposed site allocations in this committee report may proceed to consultation, including the second best sites;

2.    Notes that the sites are not agreed by the Council at this stage but are suitable for consultation

The majority of Members endorsed the proposed recommendations advising it was important to try and get as many sites as possible at this stage before considering tiers 3 and 4 which had less facilities.

Members’ comments included:

·         Frustration was expressed about the urban capacity study that lacked the attention needed to the major town centres where value, economy and homes could be delivered;

·         A suggestion was made to look at compulsory purchases;

·         There was a need to have discussions on individual towns before going out to consultation;

·         From the morning’s presentations a concern was raised about the extent of urban sprawl of greenfield development;

·         Concern was raised about inaccuracies in the calculations for the 20 minutes neighbourhood.  It was suggested they should be based on 800 metres to take into account 10 minutes to walk into town and 10 minutes to walk back and not 1600 metres as stated;

·         The Chair sought clarification from the Service Lead – Planning Strategy and Development Management about the consultation stage of the Local Plan.  He advised there could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.