Agenda item

Proposed 4no holiday chalets and food takeaway unit with extended wildlife area (as amended 16/11/2020)

Land South East Of The Drift, Cresswell, Northumberland

Proposed 4no holiday chalets and food takeaway unit with extended wildlife area (as amended 16/11/2020)

Land South East Of The Drift, Cresswell, Northumberland

There were no questions in relation to the site visit video.

R Soulsby, Planning Officer introduced the report to the Committee with the aid of a Power Point presentation.  Updates were provided as follows:-

•         Conditions 16 and 17 as outlined in the officer report had been addressed by the applicant in correspondence with the Coal Authority therefore these conditions no longer apply and should be removed.

•         It was also requested that amendments to condition 15 be dealt with under delegated powers as the applicant has provided additional information to possibly satisfy this condition or alter the wording.

•         A further objection had been received from a resident following publication of the report regarding the applicant starting works on site. The statement was read out to Committee and was available on the Planning Portal. Members were advised that the works undertaken on site related to a clearance of the site, introduction of hardstanding and the introduction of services. No built form has been constructed on site following a site visit by the Planning Officer last week.

A statement in objection to the application from Dr P Kirkwood was read out to the Committee by G Horsman, Principal Planning Officer.  A copy would be filed with the signed minutes and would also be uploaded to the Council’s website.

A statement in support of the application from Mr D Lawrence, applicant, was read out to the Committee by L Little, Senior Democratic Services Officer. A copy would be filed with the signed minutes and would also be uploaded to the Council’s website.

In response to questions from Members of the Committee the following information was noted:-

•         The prevention of parking on the verges would be secured through a condition imposed from Highways allowing control to be maintained and enforcement action to be taken if necessary.

•         Parking for two cars at each of the proposed chalets would be provided and there would be an upgrade to the existing car park to utilise the space available.   

•         Conditions 6 and 7 would prevent both the chalets and take-away facility being brought into use prior to the car parking being marked out in bays and implemented.  The formalisation of the existing car park would allow the space to be utilised more efficiently and would provide sufficient spaces for both the existing and takeaway facility.  The parking management strategy would seek to provide on-street parking restrictions outside the frontage of the development.

•         There was nothing proposed as part of this application in connection with providing public toilets. It had been mentioned as part of the applicant’s statement to Committee, however this had not been assessed as part of the application and Members were advised that any decision taken should be on the basis that toilets would not be provided.

Councillor Dodd proposed acceptance of the recommendation to approve the application subject to the conditions set out in the report with conditions 16 and 17 removed and delegated authority be provided to the Director of Planning in relation to the wording of Condition 15 and subject to a s106 agreement in relation to a contribution to the Coastal Mitigation scheme, which was seconded by Councillor Jackson.  A vote was taken on the proposal and it was unanimously

RESOLVED that the application be GRANTED permission for the reasons and with the conditions as set out in the report and amended above with delegated authority provided to the Director of Planning in relation to the wording of Condition 15 and subject to a s106 agreement in relation to a contribution to the Coastal Mitigation scheme.

Councillor Bawn returned to the meeting at this point.