Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2020 be confirmed, subject to the following revised wording in italics within minute number 76 to read:

(Councillor Strengiel relinquished his seat as a member of Planning Committee for tonight’s meeting having declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in the matter to be considered, but spoke as Ward Advocate for the proposed application.)

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

No declarations of interest were received.

The Arboricultural Officer:

a.    advised members of the reasons for proposed works to trees in the City Council’s ownership and sought consent to progress the works identified, as detailed at Appendix A of his report

b.    highlighted that the list did not represent all the work undertaken to Council trees, it represented all the instances where a tree was either identified for removal, or where a tree enjoyed some element of protection under planning legislation, and thus formal consent was required

c.    explained that Ward Councillors had been notified of the proposed works.

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail, and raised questions which received relevant responses from the Arboricultural Officer as follows:

·         : Many recently planted samplings across the city appeared to have died off. Would these be replaced later in the year?

·         : Yes indeed. A note was being taken of their location and they would be replaced during the next scheduled planting season.

·         : Why was a cherry tree recently deceased in Queens Park to be replaced with a Tibetan Cherry?

·         : Although not a native tree, the Tibetan Cherry benefited from having a beautiful mahogany bark which added amenity to the local area, also being quite a small tree. Due to the texture of this trees bark he was also of the opinion that this tree may encourage children to investigate and interact with this tree as it would be located next to a play area.

·         : Why was it considered appropriate to fell a tree at 5 Wigsley Road due to the canopy overhanging the private property next door whereas many trees the subject of tree preservation orders also suffered from this problem but were not removed?

·         : This tree was so heavily suppressed. The asymmetrical canopy overhung the private property next door and could not be maintained unlike other trees protected by preservation orders which could be maintained.

RESOLVED that tree works set out in the schedules appended to the report be approved.

The Assistant Director for Planning:

a)    reported that planning permission was sought to fell 1 Silver Birch tree at 4 Finningley Road, Lincoln, located within Doddington Road No 2 Tree Preservation Order 1981

b)    confirmed that the application was submitted by a relative of an employee of the City of Lincoln Council and for this reason was brought before Planning Committee for consideration

c)    advised that the City of Lincoln Arboricultural Officer had inspected the tree on 19 March 2019

d)    reported on the main issues to be considered by Members of Planning Committee in terms of the health and safety of the tree as follows:

·         A lack of root flare, suggesting that the tree had been planted too deeply or soil levels adjusted since then.

·         An open cavity present at grade on the south-eastern side of the bole, leading to suspected decay in the lower bole of the tree/into the buried trunk increasing risk of failure during wind loading events.

·         The canopy of the tree being suppressed by the adjoining woodland canopy which had led to phototrophic development of the main stem and scaffold branches.

·         Indulations within the trunk which suggested adaptive growth within the stem as a result of adjusted force flow.

e)    concluded that:

·         As the base of the bole of the tree exhibited an open cavity with an associated decay column, officers recommended that consent to remove the tree be approved to avoid the risk of unpredictable collapse.

·         Due to the limited size of the rear garden and the associated adjoining canopy present, it was suggested that in this case the planting of a replacement tree was unwarranted.

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail.

RESOLVED that removal of 1 Silver Birch tree at 4 Finningley Road, Lincoln, located within Doddington Road No 2 Tree Preservation Order 1981 be approved, subject to the following condition:

·         Due to the limited size of the rear garden and the associated adjoining canopy presence, in this case the planting of a replacement tree was unwarranted.

The Assistant Director for Planning:

a.    advised that this planning application had been referred to the previous Planning Committee with a recommendation to delegate authority to the Assistant Director for Planning to grant the application conditionally subject to no further comments being received during the remainder of the consultation period

b.    highlighted that during the period of the site notice end date two days after committee a petition against the development was submitted as well as six objections

c.    reported that the application was therefore brought back before Planning Committee this evening remaining the same as seen previously on 17 June 2020, to consider the further comments received

d.    reported that full planning permission had been submitted for the erection of 49 dwellings with vehicular access from Aldergrove Crescent and hard and soft landscaping

e.    described the application site area of 2.25 hectares which formed part of a larger green area known as Jasmin Green, land owned by the City of Lincoln Council, although agreement had been made through the City Council's Executive on 17th July 2017 to transfer the site to the applicant, Birchwood Area Community Land Trust Ltd, for development of the application site on behalf of Birchwood Big Local

f.     added that the land to be transferred would include the current application site and land further to the north of the application site

g.    highlighted in context of the amount of land involved in the proposed development that it was allocated predominantly for housing in this area under the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan in order to meet housing supply needs, and partly as Important Open Space

h.    emphasised that the remaining undeveloped land would stay as public open space with two areas intended for play space in a future proposal by Birchwood Big Local

i.      referred to a previous extant outline planning permission on the site which granted consent with all matters reserved for 62 dwellings; the application was accompanied by an indicative site plan which showed access from Aldergrove Crescent and layout of 36 semi-detached and 2 detached single storey bungalows as well as a three storey building containing 24 apartments

j.      confirmed that the current application proposed 49 dwellings comprising of 28 bungalows, 5 dormer bungalows and 16 two storey houses as 100% affordable with some housing specifically for the over 55s, and as with the previous application, indicated two areas to the north of the site to be children's play areas

k.    reported that the detailed design of the play equipment would form a separate application when those proposals were finalised, the applicant had stated that ongoing rent from the proposed dwellings would contribute towards the long-term upkeep of the play equipment.

l.      described Birchwood Area Community Land Trust Limited as a non-profit organisation which owned and leased land and buildings on behalf of Birchwood Big Local and the Birchwood Community, The Board of Directors made up of local residents

m.  confirmed that community consultation by Birchwood Big Local had started in 2015  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.