Return to Agenda

ITEM PN3

PLANNING & REGULATION COMMITTEE – 5 SEPTEMBER 2005

Minutes of the Meeting commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 3.30 pm

Present:

The Committee considered the matters, reports and recommendations contained or referred to in the agenda for the meeting, together with a schedule of addenda tabled at the meeting and decided as set out below. Except insofar as otherwise specified, the reasons for the decisions are contained in the agenda, reports and schedule, copies of which are attached to the signed Minutes.

39/05. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS

Apologies for absence and temporary appointments were received as follows:

Apology from	Temporary Appointments
Councillor Tony Crabbe	Councillor Colin Lamont
Councillor Jean Fooks	Councillor Alan Bryden
Councillor David Nimmo-Smith	Councillor David Wilmshurst
Councillor Lawrie Stratford	Councillor Melinda Tilley

40/05. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

With regard to Item 6 (Application P05/W0733/CM Waterstock Golf Course) Councillor Lamont and Councillor Bryden each declared a personal interest insofar as they were members of the CPRE and the Ramblers Association respectively.

41/05. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 18 July 2005 were approved and signed.

Minute 37/05 – Conbloc, Dix Pit Complex, Stanton Harcourt

Mr Duncalfe advised that although the Routeing and Section 106 Agreements had not yet been signed this was expected to happen soon. However, if the agreements had not been signed by October then the matter would need to be reconsidered.

The Chairman suggested that a report be submitted to the 17 October meeting setting out the latest position.

42/05. PETITIONS AND PUBLIC ADDRESS

The following requests to address the meeting had been agreed:-

Request from	Agenda Item
Mr M Tyce, Waterstock Parish Meeting District Councillor Roger Bell (Wheatley) Mr S Sensecall (Agent for the Applicants)	) ) 6 . Waterstock Golf Course. Application )

43/05. COUNTY COUNCIL PLANNING APPLICATIONS

(Agenda Item 5)

The Committee considered a report (PN5) which set out one application for County Council development made under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992 and detailed in the schedule appended to the report:-

Application No: W.09/05. Formation of foundation stage outdoor play area along with covered paved area and access ramp at St Peter’s CE Primary School, The Green, Cassington, Witney.

RESOLVED: that application W.09/05 (St. Peter’s CE Primary School, Cassington) be approved as recommended in the schedule appended to the report PN5, subject to the detailed wording of the recommended conditions being determined by the Director for Environment & Economy.

44/05. ENGINEERING OPERATION COMPRISING RESTORATION OF LAKE AND RECONTOURING OF LAND AND RETENTION OF WASTE MATERIAL SUFFICIENT TO CARRY OUT PROPOSED WORKS AT LAND AT WATERSTOCK GOLF COURSE. APPLICATION NO P05/W0733/CM

(Agenda Item 6)

The Committee considered a report (PN6) which set out an application to regularise the outstanding restoration of an irrigation lake following permitted clay extraction and for modelling of land beyond the lake area at Waterstock Golf Course within the Oxford Green Belt. The application proposed to use unauthorised deposited waste, against which the County Council had taken enforcement action.

My Tyce advised that many local residents supported the desire to see a satisfactory solution on the site but approval of the application as it now stood would fail to achieve that. The proposals as submitted did not include a 9-hole course or restoration to the original contours of the site and showed contempt for the environment and amenity of the Parish. He urged the Committee to refuse the application.

Mr Bell advised that many Wheatley residents were members of the club and as such it represented a valuable local amenity. A great deal of waste had recently been removed from the site but he felt that the remaining material should be allowed to stay on site in order to carry out further rebuilding and remodelling works and bring to an end 8 years of dispute. He urged the Committee to approve the application.

Mr Sensecall referred to his letter of 2 September to the County Council which had requested that the Planning & Regulation Committee defer consideration of the current application to allow members of the Committee to visit the site and for the applicants to submit a revised scheme which would meet the concerns of the County Council and third parties and contain proposals for a 9-hole course. He added that if the Committee were minded to approve the current application there would be insufficient material left on site to achieve the landform currently proposed.

Mr Dance advised the Committee that in his opinion the application needed to be considered and that any revised scheme would be so materially different as to require a new application. With regard to a site visit it had been important that the application was considered against the original landforms and not what was there now. The creation of a 9-hole course was not part of the current proposals and should therefore be looked at separately.

Mrs Coyne added that in her view enough material remained on site to implement the scheme if approved and that a recent survey had indicated that land was still above the original contours. Furthermore even given the 22,000 cum claimed to have been taken away there would be at least 100,000 cum of material still to be removed.

RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Joslin, seconded by Councillor Reynolds and carried unanimously) that Application No. P05/W0733/CM be refused for the reasons set out below:

Reasons for Refusal

1. It was contrary to OSP waste policies WD4 and WD5 and OSPDD waste policies WM2 and WM3.
2. It was inappropriate development in the Oxford Green Belt contrary to OSP policy G4, OSPDD policy G4, MWLP policy W7 g) and SOLP policy GB3.
3. It would unacceptably harm local landscape character and the area of open countryside contrary to OSP policies G5 and EN4, OSPDD policies G5 and EN1, MWLP policy W7 h) and SOLP policies G1, C1 and C3.
   
   

45/05. PROGRESS ON MATTERS AT FOXLEY FIELDS FARM, FINMERE QUARRY AND LANDFILL SITE

(Agenda Item 7)

On 18 July 2005 the Planning & Regulation Committee had considered a progress report on remediation matters at Foxley Fields Farm site, Finmere and had asked for a further update (PN7) on action at this meeting.

Mr Duncalfe advised that he had written to Premier Aggregates regarding monitoring of waste and that the Monitoring Officer would be visiting the site with regard to concerns regarding the amounts of silt being deposited. A proposed programme of works would be discussed at the next Liaison meeting in September including possible incorporation of proposals by the Company for an application to keep waste around the edge of the site.

Councillor Mrs Fulljames referred to overwhelming local support for the removal of all over-tipped material and concern that Premier Aggregates continued to treat residents with total disregard.

RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Mrs Fulljames, seconded by Councillor Reynolds and carried unanimously) to:

1. note the report;
2. instruct officers to write a strongly worded letter to Premier Aggregates expressing the Planning & Regulation Committee’s concern at the lack of progress on agreed remedial measures together with a Planning Contravention Notice as a precursor to enforcement action if progress was not rapidly made;
3. ask officers to submit a progress report to the 17 October meeting setting out the options available to enforce the planning consent issued on 12 July 2005 and the conditions attached to it in the event of unsatisfactory progress on the agreed remedial measures.

in the Chair

Date of signing 2005

Return to TOP