Agenda and minutes

Venue: Meeting Room 1, Berwick Leisure Centre, Northumberland Rd, Tweedmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 2AS

Contact: Rebecca Little 

Items
No. Item

1.

MEMBERSHIP AND TERMS OF REFERENCE

The committee is asked to note the following membership and terms of reference for the North Northumberland Local Area Council which were agreed by Council on 4 May 2022.? 

The membership is made up of the county councillors who represent the 13 electoral divisions in the North Northumberland area:? 

Chair:  G Castle 

Vice Chair: S Bridgett; Vice Chair (Planning): C Hardy 

Quorum - 4

?

Conservative

Labour

Green Party

Liberal

Democrat

?

Independents (Non-grouped)

G Castle 

T Clark 

?M Swinbank 

I Hunter? 

S Bridgett 

C Hardy 

 

G Hill 

M Mather 

 

 

?? 

W Pattison 

 

?? 

?? 

G Renner-Thompson 

 

C Seymour 

 

T Thorne 

 

J Watson 

 

?? 

?? 

 

 

?? 

?? 

 

 

Terms of reference  

 

(1)      To enhance good governance in the area and ensure that the  

Council’s policies take account of the needs and aspirations of local communities and do not discriminate unfairly between the different Areas. 

(2)      To advise the Cabinet on budget priorities and expenditure within the  

Area. 

(3)      To consider, develop and influence policy and strategy development of 

the Council, its arms-length organisations, and other relevant bodies, to ensure that they meet local requirements and facilitate efficient and transparent decision making.    

(4)      To receive information, consider and comment on matters associated  

with service delivery including those undertaken in partnership agencies, affecting the local area to ensure that they meet local requirements, including matters relating to community safety, anti- social behaviour and environmental crime. 

(5)     To consider and refer to Cabinet any issues from a local community  

perspective with emerging Neighbourhood Plans within their area, and consider local planning applications as per the planning delegation scheme  

(6)      To consider and recommend adjustments to budget priorities in  

relation to Local Transport Plan issues within their area, and to make decisions in relation to devolved capital highway maintenance allocations. 

(7)   To engage, through the appropriate networks, with all key stakeholders 

from the public, private, voluntary and community sectors to facilitate the delivery of area priorities. This will include undertaking regular liaison with parish and town councils. 

(8)    To inform, consult and engage local communities in accordance  

with Council policy and guidance, through the appropriate networks.   

(9)      To, as appropriate, respond or refer with recommendations to  

local petitions and councillor calls for action. 

(10)    To make certain appointments to outside bodies as agreed by Council. 

(11)    To determine applications for grant aid from the Community Chest, either through Panels for individual Local Area Councils, or through the Panel of Local Area Council Chairs for countywide applications. 

(12)    To refer and receive appropriate issues for consideration to or from  

other Council Committees, and as appropriate invite Portfolio Holders to attend a meeting if an item in their area of responsibility is to be discussed. 

(13)  To exercise the following functions within their area:- 

(a)      the Council’s functions in relation to the survey, definition,  

maintenance, diversion, stopping up and creation of public rights of way. 

(b)      the Council’s functions as the Commons Registration Authority for common land and town/village greens in Northumberland. 

(c)       the Council’s functions in relation to the preparation and maintenance of the Rights  ...  view the full agenda text for item 1.

Minutes:

The Membership and Terms of Reference for the North Northumberland Local Area Council, as agreed at Full Council on 4 May 2022 were provided for information. 

 

RESOLVED that this was noted.

 

2.

MEMBERSHIP AND TERMS OF REFERENCE - NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND LOCAL AREA COUNCIL (RIGHTS OF WAY) SUBCOMMITTEE

Members are asked to nominate six members drawn from the membership of the North Northumberland Local Area Council. Balance 4:1:1(4 Conservative, 1 Independent, 1 Labour/Liberal Democrat/ Green Party). 

 

Terms of reference: 

 

To exercise functions in relation to the survey, definition, maintenance, diversion, stopping up and creation of public rights of way in the north Northumberland area, on behalf of the North Northumberland Local Area Council. 

 

Minutes:

Members agreed that the North Northumberland Local Area Council (Rights of Way) Subcommittee would be:

 

G. Castle (Chair)

C. Hardy

M. Mather

G. Renner-Thompson

C. Seymour

M. Swinbank

 

RESOLVED that this was noted.

 

3.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor S. Bridgett, Councillor T. Clark, and Councillor T. Thorne.

 

4.

DISCLOSURE OF MEMBERS' INTERESTS

Unless already entered in the Council’s Register of Members’ interests, members are required to disclose any personal interest (which includes any disclosable pecuniary interest) they may have in any of the items included on the agenda for the meeting in accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council on 4 July 2012, and are reminded that if they have any personal interests of a prejudicial nature (as defined under paragraph 17 of the Code Conduct) they must not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must leave the room. NB Any member needing clarification must contact the monitoring officer by email at monitoringofficer@northumberland.gov.uk . Please refer to the guidance on disclosures at the rear of this agenda letter.

Minutes:

Councillor Hill advised the committee that she had a personal but non prejudicial interest in item 7 of the agenda, 21/01355/FUL.

 

5.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 471 KB

Minutes of the meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council held on Thursday, 24 February 2022 and Thursday, 24 March 2022, as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.  

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council held on Thursday, 24 February 2022, and Thursday, 24 March 2022, as circulated, be confirmed as a true record and be signed by the Chair.? 

 

 

Councillor Hardy (Vice Chair – Planning), in the Chair.

 

6.

DETERMINATION OF PLANNING APPLICATIONS

To request the committee to decide the planning applications attached to this report using the powers delegated to it. 

 

Please note that printed letters of objection/support are no longer circulated with the agenda but are available on the Council’s website at  http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Planning.aspx

 

Minutes:

The report requested the Committee to decide the planning applications attached to the report using the powers delegated to it. Members were reminded of the principles which should govern their consideration of the applications, the procedure for handling representations, the requirement of conditions and the need for justifiable reasons for the granting of permission or refusal of planning applications.  

 

RESOLVED that this was noted.

 

7.

21/01355/FUL pdf icon PDF 398 KB

Resubmission: Re-development of a brown fried site to create 30 new homes. A mix of apartments houses.
Land East of Lifeboat House, Dock Road, Tweedmouth, Northumberland

Minutes:

D. Love – Senior Planning Officer introduced the application with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation. After showing the site videos, D. Love gave the following updates:

 

·       The report should have consistently read: “That this application be approved, subject to conditions and section a s106 agreement to secure affordable housing, open space, healthcare contribution and coastal mitigation strategy payments

·       Paragraph 7.92 in the report should have read £615 not £600.

·       Advice from the Housing Enabling Officer indicated that the tenure mix, and type of housing should have been flexible, the offer of four onside flats could have been amended to include a single house, the committee would be asked to authorise delegation to negotiate the make-up of the affordable housing contribution.

·       There was an addition of two conditions covering consistency with the submitted Flood Risk Assessment and a suspensive condition for a CEMP.

·       The Lead Local Flood Authority and the EA agent had agreed their respective positions and there had not been anything missed in the assessment.

 

N. Craig, spoke in support of this application and gave the following information:

 

·       GMC were a family run business based in Berwick, and had previously developed 150 homes in the town, using local workforce and supply chain.

·       GMC had previously acquired brown field sites and turned them into successful properties, including the former council officers.

·       The development would complement the area, and had been designed with Historic England, the Conservation Officer, and the Lead Planner. They had confirmed that the design complied with planning legislation and was appropriate for the area.

·       The project would include job stability for the GMC team and local network, including sub-contractors, suppliers, and professionals, keeping money within the micro-economy of Berwick Upon Tweed.

·       The site would include river defenders, which would require maintenance and some rebuilding, the defences were secured for the life of the development with the homeowners paying for the upkeep and maintenance of the river defence.

·       There had been a flood risk report and a contamination report, these had been scrutinised by Public Health, LLFA and Environmental Agency and had been approved by the statutory consultees.

 

Following questions from Members to the planning officers, the following information was provided:

 

·       The site was a brownfield site, and that the Building Conservation Officer considered that the impact from the proposed development would cause less than substantial harm.

·       There would be 27 conditions on the development which would be rigorously monitored. 

·       The materials that would be used in the development were stone and zinc, however there was a condition in the report to agree materials in line with the local vernacular.

·       The application included breaking up the original big block development into three separate blocks with different heights, which would suit the vernacular of the town.

·       The site could potentially be used as a storage facility if the application were to be refused.

·       There was a condition for EV charging points, but the number had not been confirmed at the time of the application.

 

Councillor Renner-Thompson proposed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

21/00346/OUT pdf icon PDF 283 KB

Outline Application with all matters reserved for demolition of existing cottage and construction of up to 4no, residential dwellings (Use Class C3)
Braemar, Beach View, Boulmer, Northumberland, NE66 3BW 

 

Minutes:

R. Campbell – Senior planning officer, introduced the application with the aid of site videos and a PowerPoint presentation, there had been no further updates since the submission of the report to the committee.

 

A. Hinchcliffe spoke in objection to the application and gave members the following information:

·       The site should be for one of two low-rise homes similar to the existing bungalow. Four houses on the site was unacceptable.

·       The design of the application was based on the design on the three semi-detached houses to the immediate south, which were built around 1940 with no space to take vehicles between the houses.

·       The submitted design code contains inaccuracies which gave false impression of the proposal and comparative proportions to the existing semi-detached houses were incorrect.

·       Beach View mainly consisted of low-height and low-density bungalows that were sat within a generous garden, an important characteristic of the village.

·       Boulmer had suffered from high levels of visitor parking, further resident parking on Beach Road would add to an already problematic situation.

·       Of the last eleven properties that were added to the housing market in Boulmer, nine had gone for second homes or holiday lets.

 

C. Bradshaw, spoke as a parish councillor in the Longhougton & Boulmer area and gave the following information:

·       The site was not a suitable size to hold four dwellings.

·       The application was out of character and scale for the street.

·       The rest of the properties on the street were bungalows.

·       Parking was inadequate.

·       Developments would need to attract young families.

·       Developments would need to be sympathetic and enhance the character of the village.

 

D. Puttick, spoke in support of the application and gave the following information:

·       The application was an all matters reserved application.

·       The application plans were detailed and supported by the Planning Officers.

·       The applicant planned to use old building styles to keep the development in characteristic of the village.

·       Highways had commented that the application site would have sufficient parking.

 

Following questions from members to the planning officers, further information was provided:

·       The committee could not impose conditions relating to second homes as the Parish did not have large amount of second homes, based on census data and in accordance with the Local Plan.

·       If approved, the committee could ask to have the reserved matters application brought before members, which would include parking, this would be considered through the chair referral process.

·       Planning officers were satisfied that the site could provide up to four dwellings.

·       Planning Officers had worked with the AONB, and the developer was aware of the concerns raised.

·       The street scene did not contain only bungalows.

 

Councillor Pattison proposed to refuse the application for the following reasons: Harmful visual impact on neighbouring amenity and general visual amenity, failure to conserve and enhance the special qualities of the AONB, failure to demonstrate sufficient car parking and over development of the site.

This was seconded by Councillor Hill.

 

After a small debate from members, a vote was taken as follows: FOR; 6, AGAINST;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

TREE PRESERVATION ORDER pdf icon PDF 121 KB

Land at Bank House Farm, Acklington, Northumberland

 

Minutes:

The Planning Officer introduced the preservation order with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation.

There were no questions from members.

 

Councillor Watson proposed to accept the officer’s recommendation, which was seconded by Councillor Castle.

 

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 9, AGAINST; 1, ABSTAIN; 0

RESOLVED that the Tree Preservation OThe Planning Officer introduced the preservation order with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation.

There were no questions from members.

 

Councillor Watson proposed to accept the officer’s recommendation, which was seconded by Councillor Castle.

 

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 9, AGAINST; 1, ABSTAIN; 0

RESOLVED that the Tree Preservation Order is confirmed without modification for the reasons set out in paragraphs 7.1 - 7.3 in the report.

rder is confirmed without modification for the reasons set out in paragraphs 7.1 - 7.3 in the report.

 

10.

APPEALS UPDATE pdf icon PDF 194 KB

For Members’ information to report the progress of planning appeals.  This is a monthly report and relates to appeals throughout all 5 Local Area Council Planning Committee areas and covers appeals of Strategic Planning Committee.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED that this was noted.

11.

SECTION 106 pdf icon PDF 208 KB

For Members’ information to report the agreement monitoring and collection of s106 contributions in the planning process.  This is a monthly report and relates to agreements throughout Northumberland during the previous monthly period.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED that this was noted.

 

 

 

A comfort break was announced for officers to change over.

Councillor Castle (Chair) – In the Chair

 

12.

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

To reply to any questions received from members of the public which have been submitted in writing in advance of the meeting. Questions can be asked about issues for which the Council has a responsibility. (Public question times take place on a bimonthly basis at Local Area Council meetings: in January, March, May, July, September and November each year.) 

 

As agreed by the County Council in February 2012, the management of local public question times is at the discretion of the chair of the committee.  

 

Please note however that a question may possibly be rejected if it requires the disclosure of any categories of confidential or exempt information, namely information: 
 

  1. Relating to any individual; 
  1. Which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual; 
  1. Relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person ;
  1. Relating to any labour relations matters/negotiations; 
  1. Restricted to legal proceedings 
  1. About enforcement/enacting legal orders 
  1. Relating to the prevention, investigation of prosecution of crime. 
     

And/or: 
 

  • Is defamatory, frivolous or offensive;  
    • It is substantially the same as a question which has been put at a meeting of this or another County Council committee in the past six months;  
  • The request repeats an identical or very similar question from the same person; 
  • The cost of providing an answer is disproportionate;  
  • It is being separately addressed through the Council's complaints process; 
  • It is not about a matter for which the Council has a responsibility or which affects the county; 
  • It relates to planning, licensing and/or other regulatory applications 
  • It is a question that town/parish councils would normally be expected to raise through other channels. 

 

If the Chair is of the opinion that a question is one which for whatever reason, cannot properly be asked in an area meeting, he/she will disallow it and inform the resident of his/her decision.  

 

Copies of any written answers (without individuals' personal contact details) will be provided for members after the meeting and also be publicly available. 

 

Democratic Services will confirm the status of the progress on any previously requested written answers and follow up any related actions requested by the Local Area Council. 

 

Minutes:

No questions had been submitted in writing.

 

Q.
L. Robson, local resident, asked where they were able to recycle printer cartridges as there had been no recycling scheme available from the supplier since the Covid-19 pandemic.
A.
The chair explained that a full written response would be provided to Mr Robson, with some members suggesting local recycling points.

 

 

Q.
B. Darling, local resident, asked where he could report illegal and fraudulent land sales that Northumberland County Council may be caught up in.
A.
The chair explained that if the resident believed there was illegal activity occurring then they should contact the police in the first instance or if they were concerned with suspicious practice then they could also contact their local member.

 

 

J. Thomas, local resident, asked several questions:

Q1)
Mr Thomas questioned the effectiveness between Parish Councils and had raised a number of concerns with the democratic process which received no formal response.

A1)

The chair explained that previous questions may have not been permitted and that only questions which adhere to the public question time policy would guarantee a written response.

 

Q2)
Storm Arwen, there were no public requests for direct feedback for any fact finding. Mr Thomas had requested help and support from Northumberland County Council but had been denied and no feedback was gathered.

A2)

The chair explained that there had been a Storm Arwen working group and there had been a dedicated email address for any Storm Arwen concerns or feedback. The working group had agreed recommendations in principle, and they had used feedback and comments from local members, town and Parish Councils as well as members of the public, these recommendations were to be heard by full council in due course.

 

Q3)
Mr Thomas believed that the public drop-in sessions for the Berwick Education Review were “woefully short”, and he was concerned that no full public consultation was completed.

A3)

Councillor Renner-Thompson, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, explained that the consultation had been completed formally and legally, with schools and the teaching staff consultation proceeding for four years previous. Councillor Renner-Thompson explained that he had confidence in officers that had completed the consultation but expressed that there could have been more in-person consultations, however explained that there was also an online platform where residents could express their views.

 

Q4)
Mr Thomas explained that there has been an issue with the roads in Lowick Village due to the speed of traffic and size of vehicles passing, the road gullies were inadequate and had not been serviced, they had raised this with the local member for the area but received no reply.

A4)

The chair explained that Mr Thomas would receive a full written response to this question.

 

13.

PETITIONS

This item is to:? 

(a) Receive any new petitions:?to receive any new petitions. The lead petitioner is entitled to briefly introduce their petition?and a response to any petitions received will then be organised for a future meeting.  

?????

(b) Consider reports on petitions previously received - None

 ? 

(c)? Receive any updates on petitions for which a report was previously?considered:?any updates will be verbally reported at the meeting.? 

 

Minutes:

(a) Receive any new petitions:

 

There had been no new petitions received.

??????? 

(b) Consider reports on petitions previously received:

 

There were no reports presented on previous petitions.

??? 

(c)? Receive any updates on petitions for which a report was previously?considered:

 

There were no updates.

 

14.

LOCAL SERVICES ISSUES

To receive a verbal update from the Area Managers from Technical Services and Neighbourhood Services in attendance about any key recent, ongoing and/or future planned Local Services work for the attention of members of the Local Area Council, who will also then have the opportunity to raise issues with the Area Managers.? 

The Area Managers have principal responsibility for highway services and environmental services, such as refuse collection, street cleansing and grounds maintenance, within the geographic boundaries of the Local Area Council.? 

 

Minutes:

Highways

 

Resurfacing
Three schemes had been completed of the 2022/23 LTP, those were:
- Swansfield Park Road – Alnwick
- Trewhitt Hall
- Barmoor to Doddington

There would be a total of 41 resurfacing schemes to deliver in the North Northumberland area, including eight additional schemes, two micro surfacing schemes and 14 on the surface dressing programme.

The schemes to complete next were:
Canongate Bridge – Alnwick

Knocklaw – Rothbury

Brewery Road – Wooler

Harwood Village


The highways team had also been delivering a major car park scheme in Amble

 

Maintenance

The maintenance teams had the use of two hot box loans, making it three in total.

There would shortly have two gully tankers
The jet patcher was due to arrive the week after the meeting for roughly eight weeks.

 

All of the gullies on the A697 from Weldon Bridge to Coldstream had recently been cleared, along with all the gullies on the A698 from Cornhill to Berwick and all of the gullies on the A1068 Druridge to Alnwick. This process would continue on all of the major roads and then move onto the secondary roads.

Members noted that Highways Inspectors were continuing to deal with hundreds of complaints every week about potholes and noted that it was a struggle to deal with these while trying to complete their routine inspections  

 

Following the update from G. Bucknall – Lead Highways Delivery Manager, members were invited to ask questions, in which the following information was provided:

 

·       The list of C roads to be completed would be circulated to members after the meeting.

·       The sign team had been suspended as there had been an issue with getting poles. 

·       The new gully wagon would be full time.

·       The jet patcher blows out all the water, ready for the mix to be inputted for filling potholes.

 

Members thanked Graham and the team for their continued hard work.

 

 

Neighbourhood Services

 

Waste Services
Residual and Recycling waste collection services were continuing to perform well.
Demand for the bulky waste services were high but the service had been performing well after making some adjustments to meet demand,
Garden Waste service had also been performing well, with 440 new customers in the North Northumberland area.

 

Grass Cutting
Seasonal staff had been appointed and the team had started cutting late March/early April.
Start of the grass cutting season saw a few interruptions from wet weather and the Easter bank holiday which elongated the gap between cut one and two, but the teams recovered well.


Weed Control
Area weed spraying was underway, including the spraying of obstacles.


Verge Cutting
Work was predicted to start shorty and would take approximately two months to complete.
There was 6.8 million sq. meters of verge to be cut in the county, and the team planned to engage local farmers and contractors to help reduce the significant workload.
The team planned to react quickly if any re-visits were necessary for any visibility sightlines.

 

Holy Island Public Conveniences had opened since the previous North Northumberland Local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

TWEED VALLEY RAILWAY CAMPAIGN

To receive a presentation on the Tweed Valley Railway Campaign.

Minutes:

J. Boulton – Chairman, Tweed Valley Railway Campaign, and A. Russell – Secretary, Tweed Valley Railway Campaign introduced themselves and explained the background behind the Tweed Valley Railway Campaign with the aid of a PowerPoint Presentation, and stating the three-point plan for the Campaign:

1. Generate Support

2. Feasibility Study

3. Build it

 

The campaign objective was to establish a railway between Tweedbank and Berwick Upon Tweed, this would be a 34-mile route, with half in Northumberland and half in the Scottish Borders.

 

J. Boulton explained the reasons behind the idea, including:

·       Resilience - To assist with scheduled maintenance, poor weather, or any other unscheduled events.         

·       Tourism & Leisure - To allow members of the public to access all that Northumberland and the Scottish Borders have to offer, without needing a motor vehicle.

·       Active Travel - To encourage the public to explore the region, with cycle paths nearby the line.

·       Access to Work, Education & Healthcare - To assist those without the use of a car or decent modes of public transport. Better public access to education and workplace encourages younger generations to stay within the region, encouraging it to develop and grow.

·       Attracting Investment – A 21st Century railway would attract investment in the form of housing, local amenities, car parks and cycle spaces.

·       Sustainable Transport – Reduces dependency on cars and fossil fuels. Increases the use of trains for freight.

 

J. Boulton explained what the campaign had achieved so far, including securing the funding for Year 1 from the Scottish Borders Council, transport strategy responses and building the stakeholder network.

 

Councillor Mather started the discussion welcoming the idea, stating that the roads were struggling, and it would save roads being so congested, with Councillors Seymour, Hunter and Renner-Thompson agreeing that it would better connect the East and West side of the county and bring more employment to the region.

Councillor Castle advised J. Boulton and A. Russell to contact the old Valley Railway and learn from previous attempts, and that the campaign would need a driving force.

Councillor Watson suggested contacting expert officers in Northumberland County Council who have previously worked with Borderlands and questioned about the sustainability of the line with daily journeys.

Councillor Hill declared that she was part of the campaign and explained that there had been a large population shift in the previous 20 years and that North Northumberland appreciated the Scottish links to the county and that it would benefit tourism to both Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.

 

The committee thanked J. Boulton and A. Russell for attending and wished them well on the Tweed Valley Railway Campaign.

 

16.

OUTSIDE BODIES pdf icon PDF 71 KB

To make appointments to outside body organisations within the Local Area Council’s remit.? A list of outside bodies is attached to the agenda for consideration.?

 

Minutes:

The following changes were made to the outside body appointments:

 

·       Glendale Gateway Trust no longer required a NCC appointment.

·       North Sunderland Harbour Commission were weeks away from signing a new Harbour Order which would no longer require a NCC representative. The committee declined to appoint a member.

·       Councillor Nick Morphet had been allocated to sit on Northumberland National Park Joint Local Access Forum.

 

17.

MEMBERS LOCAL IMPROVEMENT SCHEMES 2021-2025 pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Details of the North Northumberland Members Local Improvement Schemes for the period 2021-22 are provided for information only.?

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED that this was noted.

18.

LOCAL AREA WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Details of the North Northumberland Members Local Improvement Schemes for the period 2021-22 are provided for information only.?

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED that this was noted.

19.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

          The next meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council is scheduled for Thursday, 23 June 2022 at 3.00 p.m. at St James’s URC, Pottergate, Alnwick, NE66 1JW

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED that this was noted.