Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2020 be confirmed.

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.

Councillor Naomi Tweddle, Chair of the Planning Committee, reported that she had received several emails in relation to the two applications on the agenda for this meeting at land between 1 and 9-11 Greetwell Gate, Lincoln, as local ward member. She reported that she had explained in her responses that she was unable to provide an opinion until the applications came before the Planning Committee at this meeting. She wished that this be placed on record.

The Council’s Open Space Officer:

a.    described the location of the application site, at the West Parade and Rosebery Avenue entrance leading to the West Common in Lincoln, explaining that the West Common fell within the city boundary and was designated as common land, protected by the Lincoln City Council Act;

b.    advised that permission was sought for a new land drainage scheme to improve ground conditions in and around the entrance gates onto West Common from West Parade and Rosebery Avenue;

c.    reported that the proposed drainage system would consist of a 100mm main drain laid along the boundary fence of the common, running under the tarmac footpath, then out to a rougher area of grass away from any paths and into a soak-away;

d.    reported that 75mm laterals would run out of the main drain in front of the feeding area;

e.    reported that the drains would be excavated to a depth of 700-800mm, with perforated drainage pipe laid in the bottom, back filled to the surface with clean pea gravel and then topped-off with sharp sand;

f.     reported that the soak-away would be dug to a depth of 2.5m and be 2m by 2m square. This hole would be filled with a plastic create type soak-away system and wrapped in a geotextile membrane of the manufacturer’s recommendation. This would then be covered with 100-200mm of site topsoil;

g.    reported that a silt trap would be installed 10m back from the soakaway within the main drain. This would be 1200mm deep and constructed of a concrete inspection chamber. The inlet and outlet pipes would enter the chamber 400-500mm above the concrete floor of the silt trap. The chamber would be topped with a heavy duty cover and this would be capped with a cast iron removable inspection cover.

RESOLVED that the proposed works be approved.

This application seeks approval for the siting of a mobile unit for use as a temporary welfare centre and use of existing garages as storage for building materials.

The Assistant Director for Planning:

a.    described the location of the application site at land between 1 and 9-11 Greetwell Road, Lincoln, as follows:

·         it was located in the north of the city on Greetwell Gate, a one-way street running from Wragby Road to Eastgate;

·         to the east of the site was a public house whilst to the west was 1 Greetwell Gate, a Grade II listed house;

·         to the south of the site were residential properties accessed from Winnowsty Lane and Mainwell Mews;

·         on the opposite side of Greetwell Gate was a City Council owned car park and two semi-detached properties on the corner of Greetwell Gate and Langworthgate;

·         the site was located within the Cathedral and City Centre Conservation Area No. 1;

b.    advised that planning permission was sought for use of the site as a temporary welfare centre and use of the existing garages on the site for storage. The application had been submitted by the City of Lincoln Council and the site would be used by its employees in line with their duties for carrying out repairs to council houses;

c.    reported that the application was brought before Planning Committee as the proposal was made by the City of Lincoln Council on Council-owned land;

d.    provided details of the policies pertaining to the application, as follows:

·         Policy LP25 – The Historic Environment;

·         Policy LP26 – Design and Amenity;

·         National Planning Policy Framework;

e.    advised members of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to assess the proposal with regard to:

·         acceptability of use;

·         impact on residential amenity;

·         visual amenity and the impact on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and adjacent listed building;

·         highway safety;

f.     outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise;

g.    concluded that the proposed use of the site as a temporary welfare centre and use of the existing garages for storage would not cause harm to the overall character and appearance of the conservation area and appropriate conditions controlling visiting hours, the use for a temporary period and monitoring through CCTV would limit harm to residential amenity in accordance with LP25 and LP26 Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

Laura Devaney addressed the Committee in opposition to the proposal and said she represented over 100 residents in Conservation Area No. 1. The following points were noted:

·         Lincoln was a world class heritage city. It was for this reason, given that the site was located on Greetwell Gate in close proximity to the Cathedral within the conservation area, that she and other residents totally objected to the proposed pilot scheme;

·         the scheme did not present any benefits to the historic neighbourhood and the Civic Trust had said that this proposal was inappropriate given its location within the conservation area;

·         no other depots operated within conservation areas in the city;

·         the Lincolnshire Heritage database had described the area as residential, apart from specifically referencing two schools, two public houses and the workshop associated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 110b

This application seeks approval for the installation of a brick boundary wall with gates.

The Assistant Director for Planning:

a.    described the location of the application site at land between 1 and 9-11 Greetwell Road, Lincoln, as follows:

·         it was located in the north of the city on Greetwell Gate, a one-way street running from Wragby Road to Eastgate;

·         to the east of the site was a public house whilst to the west was 1 Greetwell Gate, a Grade II listed house;

·         to the south of the site were residential properties accessed from Winnowsty Lane and Mainwell Mews;

·         on the opposite side of the Greetwell Gate was a City Council owned car park and two semi-detached properties on the corner of Greetwell Gate and Langworthgate;

·         the site was located with the Cathedral and City Centre Conservation Area No. 1;

b.    advised that planning permission was sought for the construction of walls and gates to a Council-owned former garage site. The walls would sit at two varying heights with a lower wall to the front boundary with Greetwell Gate and part of the side boundary to the east. A higher wall and gates opening into the site would be positioned with a setback of 6.5 metres from the footpath to Greetwell Gate;

c.    reported that the application was brought before Planning Committee as the proposal was made by the City of Lincoln Council on council-owned land;

d.    provided details of the policies pertaining to the application, as follows:

·         Policy LP25 – The Historic Environment;

e.    advised members of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to assess the proposal with regard to:

·         visual amenity and the impact on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and adjacent listed building;

·         archaeology;

·         highway safety;

f.     outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise;

g.    concluded that the proposed wall and gates would be a visual improvement to the existing site and would therefore enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area in accordance with LP25 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

Laura Devaney addressed the Committee in opposition to the proposal. The following points were noted:

·         she was very disappointed that the Civic Trust had insinuated that the walls and gates were valid;

·         the principle of her objection was about use of the site and the proposed walls and gates should not be used to justify the site’s use;

·         it was very obvious from the photographs and video clip shown at the meeting that they had not been taken during conditions she would refer to as normal. Traffic could be very bad along Greetwell Gate which the photographs and video did not reflect;

·         the City Council’s Archaeological Officer had confirmed that the site would be thoroughly assessed. Mrs Devaney would also make contact with the County Council’s Archaeological Officer to seek further reassurances. The required works would hold up building works in respect of the walls and gate;

·         properties in this part of the city sold for up to £1.5 million. It would be much  ...  view the full minutes text for item 110c