Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Bridgett, Clark, Pattison, and Watson.

Minutes of the meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council held on Thursday, 19 January 2023 and Thursday, 23 February 2023 as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.?? 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council held on Thursday, 19 January 2023, as circulated, were confirmed as a true record, and were signed by the Chair with the following amendment noted:

Minute 103 to read “Councillor Seymour proposed to refuse the application for potential harm to a Grade II* listed building, visual impact, removal of heritage assets and she felt like the correct consultees had not been consulted.”

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council held on Thursday, 23 February 2023, as circulated, were confirmed as a true record, and were signed by the Chair.

Unless already entered in the Council’s Register of Members’ interests, members are required where a matter arises at a meeting; 

1. Which directly relates to Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (‘DPI’) as set out in Appendix B, Table 1 of the Code of Conduct, to disclose the interest, not participate in any discussion or vote and not to remain in room. Where members have a DPI or if the matter concerns an executive function and is being considered by a Cabinet Member with a DPI they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with the matter.

2. Which directly relates to the financial interest or well being of a Other Registrable Interest as set out in Appendix B, Table 2 of the Code of Conduct to disclose the interest and only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak at the meeting but otherwise must not take part in any discussion  or vote on the matter and must not remain the room.

3. Which directly relates to their financial interest or well-being  (and is not  DPI) or the financial well being of a relative or close associate, to declare the interest and members may only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak. Otherwise, the member must not take part in discussion or vote on the matter and must leave the room.

4. Which affects the financial well-being of the member, a relative or close associate or a body included under the Other Registrable Interests column in Table 2, to disclose the interest and apply the test set out at paragraph 9 of Appendix B before deciding whether they may remain in the meeting.

5. Where Members have or a Cabinet Member has an Other Registerable Interest or Non Registerable Interest in a matter being considered in exercise of their executive function, they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with it. 

NB Any member needing clarification must contact monitoringofficer@northumberland.gov.uk.  Members are referred to the Code of Conduct which contains the matters above in full. Please refer to the guidance on disclosures at the rear of this agenda letter.

sures at the rear of this agenda letter.

Councillor Hill stated that she was a member of the Berwick Civic Society but did not sit on the planning committee and therefore had a personal but non-prejudicial interest in planning applications 21/02292/FUL and 21/02293/LBC. Councillor Hill also advised that she had met with both ASDA and the objector for application 22/03112/FUL and had a personal but non-prejudicial interest in the application.

Councillor Seymour stated that she was also a member of the Berwick Civic Society and had a personal but non-prejudicial interest in planning applications 21/02292/FUL and 21/02293/LBC.

Councillor Hardy declared that he had a personal and prejudicial interest in planning application 22/03112/FUL and would leave the room while the item was discussed and voted on.

Inspector J Swan, Sergeant D Budge and Sergeant Stapleton will be in attendance to provide an update on policing issues in the North Northumberland area.

Inspector J. Swan, Sergeant D. Budge and D. Sergeant Stapleton were in attendance and gave the committee members a brief overview of crime in the North Northumberland area.

The total number of incident reports over the past year had increased by 3% across the whole area, which included crime, antisocial behaviour, mental health concerns and welfare calls. Crime had increased by 6% however antisocial behaviour had decreased by 6%. It was noted by members how antisocial behaviour is controlled by Northumbria police, including prevention, collaboration, and enforcement.

Incidents – Alnwick Area

Incidents – Berwick Area

Committee members and members of the public were invited to ask questions, the following information was then provided:

·       The Education Support team had been returning into schools since Covid restrictions had ended, and talked to students around antisocial behaviour, knife crime, cyber-crime and more.

·       Northumbria Police utilised plain clothed officers to patrol certain hotspots for underage drinking.

·       Northumbria Police would try to mediate neighbour disputes but did not always have the power to enforce.

·       There had been no increase, patterns, or trends in dog attacks.

·       Northumbria Police were about to restructure by reducing the number of PCSOs from 155 to 60 which would be divided among the force. PC officer numbers would increase by a further 134.

Members thanked Inspector J. Swan, Sergeant D. Budge and Sergeant D. Stapleton for their presentation and their time.

RESOLVED that the information was noted.

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

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

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.

Conversion of former community building to create 9no. flats, with construction of 1no. new house and garage block to rear (as amended)

5 Palace Street East, Berwick Upon Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 1HT

Conversion of former community building to create 9no. flats, with construction of 1no. new house and garage block to rear (as amended)

5 Palace Street East, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 1HT

J. Sharp – Senior Planning Officer, introduced the application to members with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, it was noted that there would be a single presentation for both applications 21/02292/FUL and 21/02293/LBC, with a separate vote for each application and public speakers were granted 10 minutes to speak.

J. Sharp explained to committee members that following the North Northumberland Planning meeting on Thursday, 19 January 2023, Northumberland County Council had received a solicitor’s letter explaining that the report had failed to mention paragraph 204 of the NPPF.

The following updates were noted by committee members:

·       There had been a late representation from Historic Buildings and Places which highlighted concerns around the loss of the Armstrong and Speirs huts.

·       The application was subject to a s106 agreement.

·       Condition 49 was required to be amended following comments received from Mr Smart. An additional condition in relation to phasing was also required to be added.

J. Smart spoke in objection to the application and gave the committee the following information:

·       There was serious harm to a conservation area.

·       The Speirs hut was one of a handful of corrugated iron schoolrooms that had survived in England. Destruction had been condemned by three of the England national amenity societies.

·       The new buildings were not necessary for the main building renovation.

·       There was a false balance of harms and benefits distorted by the combined nature of the application.

·       The new build project was a tangible threat to the vulnerable old buildings nearby.

·       The applications should be refused.

J. Bell spoke in support of the application and gave the committee the following information:

·       The applicant would like all of the construction works to commence at the same time.

·       Berwick Barracks, Beamish Museum and Blyth Battery had declined to accept the Armstrong and Speirs huts as a donation.

·       The site was in a sustainable location.

·       The site was for the needs of Berwick Youth Project.

Following members questions to the planning officer, the following information was provided:

·       The Conservation Officer noted that there was less than substantial harm.

·       The public benefit for removing the Armstrong and Speirs huts was to allow the Berwick Youth Project to use the space and refocus on activities.

·       The phasing condition was originally proposed by Councillor Bridgett and voted upon in January 2023.

Councillor Hill proposed to accept the officer’s recommendation to grant permission subject to the conditions in the report, a s106 agreement and the amendment to condition 49 and an additional condition to phase the works, and that works to the rear should not start until first occupancy of the main Georgian building with the exact wording delegated to the director of planning in consultation with the chair of planning. This was seconded by Councillor Castle.

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 8, AGAINST; 0, ABSTAIN; 1.

RESOLVED  ...  view the full minutes text for item 132.

Listed Building Consent: Conversion of former community building to create 9no. flats, with construction of 1no. new house and garage block to rear (as amended)

5 Palace Street East, Berwick Upon Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 1HT

Listed Building Consent: Conversion of former community building to create 9no. flats, with construction of 1no. new house and garage block to rear (as amended)

5 Palace Street East, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 1HT

J. Sharp – Senior Planning Officer, introduced the application and the following update was noted by committee members:

·       An amendment to condition 25 to phase the works, and that works to the rear should not start until first occupancy of the main Georgian building with the exact wording delegated to the director of planning in consultation with the chair of planning.

Councillor Hill proposed to accept the recommendation, this was seconded by Councillor Castle.

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 8, AGAINST; 0, ABSTAIN; 1.

RESOLVED that the application was GRANTED in line with the conditions set out in the report with an amendment to condition 25 to phase the works, and that works to the rear should not start until first occupancy of the main Georgian building with the exact wording delegated to the director of planning in consultation with the chair of planning.

Councillor Renner-Thompson left the meeting.

Proposed alteration/conversion of 2 outbuildings to the rear of Longhoughton Hall into 2 holiday cottages, to vary condition 2 (approved plans) pursuant to planning application 19/02209/FUL

Longhoughton Hall, North End, Longhoughton, Alnwick, Northumberland, ND66 3AG

Proposed alteration/conversion of 2 outbuildings to the rear of Longhoughton Hall into 2 holiday cottages, to vary condition 2 (approved pans) pursuant to planning application 19/02209/FUL

Longhoughton Hall, North End, Longhoughton, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 3AG

C. Simm – Planning Officer, introduced the application with the aid of a PowerPoint Presentation. It was noted that there would be a single presentation for both applications 22/02968/VARYCO and 22/03383/VARYCO, with a separate vote for each application and public speakers were granted 10 minutes to speak.

The following update was noted by members:

·       Condition 3 for application 22/02968/VARYCO was to be included in the conditions for 22/03383/VARYCO.

C. Ross spoke in objection to the application and gave the committee the following information:

·       There had been no objection to the 2019 planning application for the site.

·       There was a height increase on the pitch of the roof.

·       The roof was higher and closer to the boundary line of the neighbouring properties.

·       The neighbours felt that they were overwhelmed, overlooked, and overpowered.

A. Moss spoke in support to the application and gave the following information to the members:

·       The Town and Country Planning Act required that planning applications should be determined in accordance with the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

·       The report found in paragraph 7.3 that the development was acceptable in principle.

·       The building was in a poor state of repair and was deteriorating, Storm Arwen caused further damage.

·       The development was of high quality.

·       The building was attractive and integrated sensitively into its surroundings.

·       The development had provided the building with a new lease of life and its intended use as a holiday home would secure its future and support tourism in Northumberland.

·       The proposal complied with policy ENV7 of the Northumberland Local Plan and the NPPF.

·       There was no opportunity for overlooking.

·       The roof height increase was 14cm and not a 15% increase.

·       The development as built was acceptable in neighbour amenity terms.

Following questions from members to the planning officer, the following information was provided:

·       The roof lights were to be permanently fixed shut.

·       The Hall was dated 19^th Century.

·       EV chargers were not added into a condition, but members could add a condition to add EV chargers.

·       The roof lights that were in place were conservation roof lights.

Councillor Thorne proposed to accept the officer’s recommendations with an added condition to include EV charging points, with the exact wording delegated to the director of planning in consultation with the chair of planning, stating that whilst he had sympathy to the neighbours, the application site needed a new roof. This was seconded by Councillor Castle, agreeing that on the balance that the difference in height was not sufficient to warrant refusal.

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 4, AGAINST; 3, ABSTAIN; 1

RESOLVED that the application was GRANTED in line with the conditions set out in the report and an added condition to include EV charging points, with the exact wording delegated to the director of planning in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 134.

Proposed alternation/conversion of 2 outbuildings to the rear of Longhoughton Hall into 2 holiday cottages, to vary condition 2 (approved plans) pursuant to planning application 18/03212/LBC
Barn B, Longhoughton Hall, North End, Longhoughton, Alnwick, Northumberland, ND66 3AG

Proposed alteration/conversion of 2 outbuildings to the rear of Longhoughton Hall into 2 holiday cottages, to vary condition 2 (approved pans) pursuant to planning application 19/02209/FUL

Longhoughton Hall, North End, Longhoughton, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 3AG

Councillor Thorne proposed to accept the officer’s recommendations with the added condition 3 from the previous application. This was seconded by Councillor Castle.

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 4, AGAINST; 3, ABSTAIN; 1

RESOLVED that the application was GRANTED in line with the conditions set out in the report and the added condition 3 from the previous application.

A comfort break was announced.

As the meeting approached the 3-hour?limit Members were asked if they wished to suspend standing orders in order to continue the meeting.? Upon being put to the vote it was:?? 

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RESOLVED?that in accordance with the Council's constitution, standing orders be suspended and the meeting continue over the?3-hour?limit.?? 

Councillor Hardy left the meeting.

Councillor Castle in the Chair.

Retrospective: Instillation of Air Handling Unit within supermarket service yard. (note: the AHU has been reprogrammed to not operate between 22.00 and 07.00 hours unless the internal temperatures in the store drops below 10 degrees which will only occur under exception winter circumstances).

Asda, Main Street, Tweedmouth, Berwick Upon Tweed, Northumberland TD15 2DB

Retrospective: Installation of Air Handling Unit with supermarket service yard. (Note: the AHU has been re-programmed to not operate between 22:00 and 07:00 hours unless the internal temperature in the store drops below 10 degrees which will only occur under exceptional winter circumstances)

Asda, Main Street, Tweedmouth, Berwick Upon Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 2DS

B. MacFarlane – Planning Officer, introduced the application with the aid of a PowerPoint Presentation.

G. Dodds spoke in objection of the application and gave the committee the following information:

·       The air handling unit had been the cause of invasive noise nuisance for a group of residents from houses on Mount Road.

·       Local store managements assured neighbours of the initial installation that it would be quieter than the units it had replaced.

·       Neighbours had been driven out of their gardens and forced to keep windows tightly shut to escape the noise.

·       The initial machinery did not meet the terms of its planning permissions and was removed after the intervention of Northumberland County Council’s public protection team.

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

·       The noise assessment was completed by ASDA.

·       When the machine was switched on and off, it did not exceed background noise.

·       Northumberland County Council had not completed an assessment.

·       There had been no noise complaints submitted to Northumberland County Council.

Councillor Hunter proposed to defer the application to allow an Environmental Health Officer to attend the meeting and a note for a Public Protection Officer to visit the site. This was seconded by Councillor Hill.

A vote was taken, and it was unanimously

RESOLVED that the application was DEFERRED to allow an Environmental Health Officer to attend the next meeting with a note for a Public Protection Officer to visit the site.

Councillor Hardy was brought back into the meeting.

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. 

RESOLVED that this was noted.

For Members’ information to report the agreement monitoring and collection of s106 contributions in the planning process. This is a monthly report and related to agreements throughout Northumberland during the previous 2 months.

RESOLVED that this was noted.

A comfort break was announced to allow officers to change over.

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.)? 

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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.?? 

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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:? 
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1. Relating to any individual;? 

2. Which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual;? 

3. Relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person?; 

4. Relating to any labour relations matters/negotiations;? 

5. Restricted to legal proceedings? 

6. About enforcement/enacting legal orders? 

7. Relating to the prevention, investigation of prosecution of crime.? 
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And/or:? 
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• 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.? 

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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.?? 

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

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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.? 

No questions had been received.

This item is to:?? 

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(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.?? 

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(b) Consider reports on petitions previously received - None 

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

previously?considered:?any updates will be verbally reported at the meeting.

(a)      No new petitions had been received.

(b)      There were no petition reports for members to discuss.           

(c)      No updates on previous petitions.

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.?? 

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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.?? 

Highways

G. Bucknall – Highways Delivery Area Manager provided an update on highways.

Resurfacing

The 2022-23 North Area LTP schemes had been entirely completed as well as all the U and C money schemes.

Resurfacing schemes completed since the last meeting were:

·       Powburn, on the road to Branton.

·       Felton – Main Road to the A1.

·       Newstead

·       The road between the A1 and Lucker.

·       New Haggerston

·       Dene Drive, Berwick

The road from Pauperhaugh to Longframlington had been significantly improved ahead of the Todstead closure.

The gang had also laid the deck on the refurbished Union Chain Bridge.

Maintenance

Highways inspectors and maintenance gangs were continuing to fill potholes, unblock gullies along side any other maintenance issue within their remit.

Winter Services

Winter Service works had ended for the year.
The service received a high number of compliments and the team worked well.

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

Local Services

B. Hodgson – Neighbourhood Services Area Manager, provided an update to members.

Winter Works

Winter works were ending for the year.

The Grounds staff had continued to work a 28-hour week during the Winter period, progress through scheduled work had been challenging but successful.

The team was on target to complete their schedules winter work tasks.

Grass Cutting

Preparations for the upcoming grass cutting season had been finalised with all gras cutting equipment either serviced or scheduled to be serviced.

The team had started some additional paid grass cuts and were looking to start on the core cuts depending on ground conditions, with some roues slightly amended to improve service efficiency.

Northumberland County Council were recruiting seasonal grounds maintenance positions for the year.

Grounds Maintenance

Weed control activities would be undertaken in-house.

The team had started obstacle spraying in some areas and the blue dye additive would be used.

Street Cleansing

Street sweeping was always affected by ground frost.
The service had been suspended during the cold snap in some areas as the brushes on the machine lost their effectiveness in freezing conditions since vegetation stuck to the ground.

Waste Collections

Residual and recycling collections continued to perform well and was business as usual.

The team had carried some route reviews in readiness for the deployment of the new RCV’s to ensure they were deployed in the most efficient way possible.

Garden waste collections had started.
The increase in housing and customer numbers had meant additional tweaking of rounds was required however, all areas should benefit.
Initial take up for the service was high and the scheme remained popular.

Members thanked Bob and the Local Services team for their continued hard work.

RESOLVED that this was noted.

Councillor Mather left the meeting.

To note the latest version of agreed items for future Local Area Council meetings (any suggestions for new agenda items will require confirmation by the Business Chair after the meeting). 

RESOLVED that this was noted.

The next meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council is scheduled for Thursday, 20 April 2023 at St James URC, Pottergate, Alnwick, NE66 1JW

The next meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council was scheduled for Thursday, 20 April 2023 at St James URC, Pottergate, Alnwick, NE66 1JW 

RESOLVED that this was noted.