Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors S. Bridgett, W. Pattison, C. Seymour and T. Thorne. 

Minutes of the meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council held on Thursday, 23 March 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, 23 March 2023, as circulated, be confirmed as a true record, and be 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 Swinbank disclosed that he had a prejudicial interest in item 6 of the agenda, planning application 21/02775/FUL, and would leave the room when the application was discussed and voted upon.

Councillor Hunter disclosed that she had a personal, but non-prejudicial interest in item 5 of the agenda, planning application 21/04246/FUL.

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.

Replace existing building (3no flats/14 no bed sits space) with 3no detached houses with 18 bed spaces.

On The Beach, Harbour Road, Beadnell, NE67 5AN

Replace existing building (3no. flats/ 14no bed sits space) with 3no detached houses with 18 bed spaces.
On The Beach, Harbour Road, Beadnell, NE67 5AN

D. Love – Senior Planning Officer, introduced the application with a PowerPoint Presentation, and gave the committee the following updates:

·       An update to the recommendation on page 31 of the report, to read “approval subject to conditions and a £10,000 contribution towards coastal erosion management”

·       There had been an agreed clarification on the description of the planning application, which would now read “Replace existing building (3no. flats/ 14no bed sits space) with 3no detached houses with 18 bed spaces, to be used as holiday accommodation.”

·       Confirmation that the application site was in the Beadnell Conservation Area but outside the settlement boundary.

C. Williamson spoke on behalf of the Beadnell Parish Council and gave the committee the following information:

·       Beadnell Parish Council agreed that the existing building did not present an attractive entrance to the village, and they were generally supportive of the intention to demolish and replace it.

·       The application was an overdevelopment of the site, with one building being replaced by three, increasing the floor space considerably.

·       The height and uniformity of the buildings did not respond to local character within the Beadnell Conservation Area in which the site was situated.

·       The site was bordered by the main road into and out of Beadnell to the north.

·       The Parish Council were concerned that the was a reduction in the existing parking provision from 25% to 10% of the site area.

·       There was no official car park opposite the site, the land was part of a village green.

·       Northumberland County Council had earmarked £687,000 in the 2023/24 budget for coastal defences in Beadnell, £10,000 did not seem proportionate.

·       Beadnell Parish Council objected to the application.

N. Allen spoke in support of the application and gave the following information:

·       There had been no technical objections.

·       The scheme was for three units with six spaces each.

·       The previous Built and Heritage Officer did not object to four houses. 

·        The uniformity of the scheme introduced cohesion to the entrance of Beadnell.

·       The original building had one driveway for all vehicles with no turning. 

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

·       It was confirmed that the application site was outside of the settlement boundary but inside the Beadnell Conservation Area.

·       The £10,000 S106 sum was calculated using a technical formula.

·       Highways had been consulted on the application.

·       There was no history of collisions near the site in the past 20 years.

·       The Local Authority would be responsible to maintain the sea defences if the application was approved.

Councillor Watson proposed to refuse the application on the basis that the application was an overdevelopment of the site, replacing one house with three. This was seconded by Councillor Renner-Thompson stating that he agreed with Councillor Watson and the Parish Council.

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 6, AGAINST; 3, ABSTAIN;0

RESOLVED that the application  ...  view the full minutes text for item 149.

Erection of 2no holiday lets (Sui Generis) and associated landscaping (as amended).

Dunstan House, C74 Dunstan Village Main Road, Dunstan, NE66 3SY

Erection of 2no holiday lets (Sui Generis) and associated landscaping (as amended)
Dunstan House, C74 Dunstan Village Main Road, Dunstan, NE66 3SY

J. Sharp – Senior Planning Officer, introduced the application with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation and gave the committee the following update:

·       A late representation had been submitted, which had been circulated to members prior to the meeting.

P. Biggers spoke in objection to the planning application advising of the following information:

·       The harm from further holiday accommodation.

·       The impact of the position, scale, and design of the units.

·       The impact to residential amenity.

·       The impact of access changes.

·       The applicant had amended their proposal from two dwellings to two holiday lets in the hope of circumventing NLP Policy HOU10 seeking houses to be occupied as principal residences.

·       The Craster Neighbourhood Plan, Policy 1 supporting text was clear that new housing should be occupied as permanent residences in recognition of the high percentage of houses used as holiday accommodation.

·       55% of accommodation in Dunstan was for holiday lets, which only had a seasonal benefit to the local economy.

·       New houses in the AONB capable of being permanent residences should not be used as holiday lets.

·       Placing two large houses in the garden of the site would have a significant detrimental impact on the character of the village.

·       The scale and height of the two-storey houses and steeply pitched roofs would be close to that of Dunstan House.

·       The impact for neighbours in Windlesham, The Bungalow and Crag View was not a matter of overlooking of windows, it was a result of overlooking into gardens and an overbearing proximity given where the house on plot 1 was sited 1-2 metres from the boundary to Windlesham.

·       The residents were concerned over the safety aspects of the approach around the bend from the South.

·       The application would require the removal of the edge and a large length of whinstone wall on the street frontage again resulting in the urbanisation of this tranquil street and a loss of character, contrary to Policy QOP1.

·       The site was proposed to accommodate only 7 parking spaces.

W. Pattison had registered to speak as the Local Member and submitted a speech to be read out by an officer at the meeting, in accordance with the Public Speaking Protocol. The committee were given the following information: 

·       The proposal was in direct conflict with Craster Parish Council’s Neighbourhood Plan.

·       The planning application stated that the intention was for the new dwellings to become designated holiday lets and not homes for permanent residents/long-term tenants.

·       Should the application be granted, it would raise a question over whether future Parishes embarking on a Neighbourhood Plan was a worthwhile endeavour as loopholes could be found.

A. Shanley spoke on behalf of Craster Parish Council and gave members the following information:

·       Craster Parish Council strongly objected to the planning application.

·       New houses in Dunstan should be for primary occupancy only.

·       The Built Heritage and Design officer objected to the application.

·       The AONB  ...  view the full minutes text for item 150.

Construction of Annex Accommodation to Blue Bell Cottage

Bluebell Cottage, Dene House Farm Cottages, Longframlington, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE65 8EE

D. Love – Senior Planning Officer, introduced the application with the aid of a PowerPoint Presentation and gave the following update:

·       An additional condition to be added stating that prior to any works above damp-proof course level the applicant shall submit details of the external finishing materials for the walls and roof.

G. Nelles spoke on behalf of Longframlington Parish Council, and gave members the following information:

·       The Parish Council objected to the application.

·       The application would not satisfy the Longframlington Neighbourhood Plan policies for location and design.

·       The application sat outside the village boundary and was classified as countryside.

·       Whilst the Northumberland Local Plan made provision for rural exception sites that met local need, the Parish Council considered that the application did not fulfil this criteria.

·       Highways had stated that the location was not sustainable but had not objected as the stand-alone build was being classed as an annex.

·       Housing for older residents would be better suited within the village boundary.

·       The application would not satisfy policy LNP7 or policy LNP5.

·       The house would not be sustainable in the long term.

C. Ross spoke in support of the application and gave the committee the following information:

·       The application was for a family who required an adapted and accessible living arrangement, to allow a family member to live independently.

·       There was no highways objection.

·       The annex was designed to complement the main building.

·       The annex would be tied to the existing property and would be in the garden.

·       The track to the property was able to serve bin collection wagons and delivery lorries.

·       The application would meet a specific identified need and its use would be controlled.

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

·       Any further change to use of the annex would require further planning permission.

·       The application was designed in mind for palliative care.

Councillor Hill proposed to accept the recommendation with the additional condition that prior to any works above damp-proof course level the applicant shall submit details of the external finishing materials for the walls and roof with the exact wording to be delegated to the planning officer.  Councillor Hill stated that it was a positive application, this was seconded by Councillor Mather.

A vote was taken, and it was unanimously:

RESOLVED that the application be GRANTED with the conditions set out in the report and the additional condition that prior to any works above damp-proof course level the applicant shall submit details of the external finishing materials for the walls and roof, with exact wording to be delegated to the planning officer. 

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.

Councillor Castle (Chair), in the Chair.

The next meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Council is scheduled for Thursday, 18 May 2023 at Meeting Room 1, Berwick Leisure Centre, Tweedmouth, TD15 2AS

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Thursday, 18 May 2023.