Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2021 be confirmed.

No declarations of interest were received.

Lee George, Open Spaces Officer on behalf of Dave Walker, Arboricultural Officer:

a.        advised the Committee of the reasons for the 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.

Councillor Strengiel asked for confirmation on behalf of one of his constituents that the Oak tree at 200 Fulmar Road would be felled and replaced with a suitable specimen.

Lee George advised that the tree would be felled due it having caused direct damage to the property boundary at 200 Fulmar Road being in close proximity to the main residential structure. It would be replaced with another Oak tree, considered to be a good species, in a suitable position along the side of the adjacent pathway.

Councillor Longbottom thanked officers for providing additional information within the tree schedule as to where replacement trees would be located. This was very helpful.

Councillor Longbottom referred to works to fell a Maple tree in Boultham Park near the Grandstand area, which included removal of standing deadwood. She emphasised the importance of deadwood as habitat for insects etc and asked for Council policy on retaining deadwood from felled trees in the interests of biodiversity.

Lee George advised that this particular tree was situated near to the public footpath. The canopy would be taken out in the interest of public safety, and the stem would be retained if possible. The ability to retain standing deadwood depended on the location of the tree, if there was decay present and the roots of the tree were close to the footpath it may be safer to remove. A replacement Maple would be planted in close proximity to the position of the original tree.

The Chair emphasised the importance of giving trees the attention they deserved.

Councillor Hewson commented on a great deal of deadwood lying on the ground in Boultham Park. He stated that the Council worked alongside various partners including Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust to seek advice on suitable habitats for wildlife provided by trees and highly valued the importance of trees in general.

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

Lee George, Open Spaces Officer:

a.    presented a report in response to a request made by Planning Committee to set out the Council’s policy on tree replacements, and specifically to consider the planting of more trees, or larger replacement trees

b.    highlighted that as the benefits of trees were well known, the Council sought to find a way to balance the difficulties of growing trees in tight urban situations, and the inherent demands on space

c.    detailed within the report the defence of this policy, highlighting the reasons that larger trees would not bring proportionate benefits, and why to guarantee to plant more than one tree for each tree lost would be problematic

d.    referred to the Council’s tree planting policy for many years of planting ‘one for one’ for each tree removed as stated in the Council’s existing Open Space and Tree Management Policy which also gave priority to the planting of native species

e.    reported that in more recent years the Council had been asked to reconsider if ‘one for one’ was reasonable and if more trees or larger trees should be planted to offset the impacts of carbon footprint

f.     outlined the consideration of the options around whether we could plant more trees and larger trees together with the policy and challenges this presented in urban environments as detailed within paragraph 4 of the report

g.    reported on the Council’s practice to plant trees of species and sizes considered to be appropriate for the conditions, based on the judgement of the Arboricultural Officer, drawing on his knowledge and expertise

h.    referred to work on the introduction of a Tree Policy which would give specific mention to tree choice options and planting/aftercare arrangements with use of processes such as mycorrhizal fungi at planting stage to try to enhance survival rates

i.      summarised the reasons why it was not recommended that the Council moved to a blanket decision to plant larger trees and the real practical difficulties in terms of planting more than one tree each time a tree was lost

j.      requested members feedback on the content of the report.

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail, asked questions and received relevant responses as follows:

·         Question: Was it possible to identify suitable locations for additional tree planting schemes in the city, utilising appropriate bids to funding streams promoting reductions in carbon impact?

·         Response: Most tree planting was funded out of the Council’s own budget using local suppliers which offered best value for money.

·         Comment: The report implied there were not sufficient funds for larger trees. An increase in trees was good for the environment, therefore seeking external funding streams would be of benefit to the city.

·         Response: Additional funding was always sought as a matter of course as and when it became available. For example, recent collaboration work had taken place with Lincoln Community Trust to achieve funding for renovation work to Boultham Park. It was often the case that third parties were more successful  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

The Assistant Director for Planning:

1. described the application site; land to the rear of 116 High Street currently vacant, comprised of unmade ground and gravel, located to the west of High Street properties

2. advised that the land in between the rear of these properties and the site formed the service yard to 116 High Street, including a single storey metal clad store and some air conditioning units, to be accessed from Gaunt Street between no’s 7 and 11 across the existing service yard

3. described the rear boundaries to the south of the site with properties on Gaunt Street defined by a substantial 3.2m high wall, to the north the rear boundaries of properties on Anchor Close defined by a 1.8m high fence and to the west of the site a low-level laurel hedge which defined the boundary with Woodburn Place, accommodated by flats accessed via a footpath within the site adjacent to the south boundary

4. advised that planning permission was sought for the erection of a two-storey building to accommodate four two-bedroomed flats, together with an acoustic enclosure to the existing air conditioning units to the rear of 116 High Street added to the proposal during the application process

5. added that in an attempt to address some of the concerns of neighbouring properties, the revised plans also identified the positioning of all neighbouring properties on the elevations, sight lines from neighbouring properties towards the development, the outline of a previously approved development, the position of a new 2m high fence adjacent to the west boundary, together with the provision of a Daylight and Sunlight Report and a Noise Impact Assessment

6. outlined the relevant site history to the application site as detailed in full within the officer’s report

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

·         Policy LP1: A Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development

·         Policy LP2: The Spatial Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy

·         Policy LP13: Accessibility and Transport

·         Policy LP14: Managing Water Resources and Flood Risk

·         Policy LP16: Development on Land Affected by Contamination

·         Policy LP25: The Historic Environment

·         Policy LP26 Design and Amenity

·         National Planning Policy Framework

8. advised Planning Committee of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to assess the proposal with regards to:

·         Principle of Use

·         Visual Amenity

·         Residential Amenity

·         Noise

·         Access and Highways

·         Archaeology

·         Drainage

·         Land Contamination and Air Pollution

9. outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise

10. concluded that:

The Planning Team Leader:

1. advised that planning permission was sought for the construction of railings on top of an existing parapet wall upstand to a raised access landing at the Parachute Regimental Association Memorial Garden

2. described the location of the site located between Castle Square Car Park and the eastern wall of Lincoln Castle, within the Cathedral and City Centre Conservation Area No 1

3. highlighted that the application was brought before Planning Committee this evening as the applicant was related to a City Council employee

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

·         Policy LP25: The Historic Environment

·         National Planning Policy Framework

5. advised the Committee of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to assess the proposal with regards to:

·         Visual Amenity

·         Setting of the Adjacent Listed Building

6. reported that no public responses had been received in relation to the consultation exercise

7. concluded that the proposed railings would preserve the character and appearance of the Conservation Area in accordance with LP25 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

The Committee discussed the content of the report in further detail. Members expressed their support for improvements to the Parachute Regiment Garden in recognition of the important contribution the Parachute Regiment Association had made to the country and in interests of maintaining adequate safety measures in keeping with the Castle area

RESOLVED that the application for planning permission be approved subject to the following conditions:

01)      The development must be begun not later than the expiration of three years beginning with the date of this permission.

            Reason: As required by Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

02)      With the exception of the detailed matters referred to by the conditions of this consent, the development hereby approved shall be carried out in accordance with the drawings listed.

           The works shall be carried out in accordance with the details shown on the approved plans and in any other approved documents forming part of the application.

            Reason: To ensure the development proceeds in accordance with the approved plans.