Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 19 April 2023 be confirmed.

There was no update sheet.

Councillor Rebecca Longbottom declared a Personal and Pecuniary Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Work to Trees in City Council Ownership'. Reason: She had been involved in the dispute between the neighbours (as ward councillor) which had led to the decision of Housing to cut the trees back. Therefore, she was privy to a lot of extraneous information in respect of this application that other members weren’t.

She left the room during the consideration of this item and took no part in the deliberation or vote on the matter to be determined.

Councillor Mark Storer declared a Declaration of Predetermination with regard to the agenda item titled 'Garages To The South West Of Pottergate Monument, Pottergate, Lincoln'. Reason: he had called in the application by way of a written statement and had therefore pre-determined his interest in the matter to be discussed.

He left the room during the consideration of this item and took no part in the deliberation or vote on the matter to be determined.

(Councillor Longbottom left the room during the consideration of this item, having declared a personal and pecuniary interest in one of the proposed works to trees being considered. She took no part in the discussion or vote on the matter to be determined.)

Consideration was given to a report which proposed works to trees in City Council ownership, as detailed in Appendix A to the report, and sought consent to progress the works identified. 

The Committee was reminded that the list contained within the report did not represent all of the work undertaken to Council trees.  It was 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.

It was confirmed that all relevant Ward Councillors had been notified of the proposed works for their respective wards prior to the submission of the report.

RESOLVED

That the proposed works to trees in City Council ownership, as detailed in Appendix A to the report, be approved.

(Note: At this point in proceedings, Councillor Rebecca Longbottom re-entered the meeting).

The Assistant Director of Planning:

a)    advised that the application property was 74 Carholme Road, a two storey terraced property, and proposed the erection of single storey extension to the existing property;

b)    the application was brought before Planning Committee as it had more than four objections, including a written representation from Ward Councillor Lucinda Preston;

c)    provided details of the policies pertaining to the application, as follows:

-       Policy S53: Design and Amenity

-       National Planning Policy Framework

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

-       National and Local Planning Policy

-       Principle of the development

-       Impact on the amenity of nearby properties

-       Design and impact on visual amenity

-       Highway safety, access and parking

e)    outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise;

f)     advised that the existing dwelling was occupied as C4 HMO, which permitted up to six individuals to live within the property; the application proposed a single storey extension to the rear to accommodate expanding living space and officers may therefore principally consider the physical and visual impact of the extension upon the neighbouring properties;

g)    reported that written representations had questioned the use of the space, suggesting that it could be used as additional bedroom space;

h)    confirmed that the case officer had subsequently confirmed with the applicant that the structure was intended to improve the layout of the property for its current small use as a small HMO for 3-6 persons. Furthermore, it was confirmed that an extension to the property to accommodate an additional bedspace would not change the established use of the property, which could also make use of permitted development rights to extend without the need for planning permission; and

i)     concluded that the proposals would not have detrimental impact on the residential and visual amenity of neighbouring properties in accordance with policy S53 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

Councillor Neil Murray addressed Planning Committee on behalf of local residents with concerns regarding the planning application, covering the following main points:

·         Many local residents were not happy with the proposed planning application, and this was one of several recent applications within the area which was a cause for concern.

·         Local residents were concerned this was a way in which the owner was attempting to gain additional space within the property so additional tenants could reside.

·         The applicants did not live local to the area and therefore had little regard to the impact on the community nor to the impact of developing further onto outdoor space.

·         The surrounding area was already overdeveloped and therefore this application, along with similar other applications, added pressure onto the area nor was it visually attractive.

·         The application was detriment to the local character or history of the area.

·         The applicant has not approached the neighbouring property to obtain  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Planning Team Leader:

a)    advised that the application requested listed building consent for the opening up a previously blocked up doorway within a garage wall. The doorway would lead into land within the applicant’s ownership, albeit currently incorporated into the garden of No.3 Greenstone Place, No. 3 Greenstone Place was a Grade II listed building;

b)    informed the Committee that the application was for listed building consent only; the works to re-open the doorway were not considered to be development and therefore did not require full planning permission;

c)    advised the application had been called to Planning Committee by Councillor Mark Storer;

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

-       Policy S57: The Historic Environment

-       National Planning Policy Framework

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

-       Impact on the special architectural and historic interest of the listed building

f)     outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise; and

g)    concluded that the proposal was considered to be appropriate and sympathetic to the historic character, fabric and interest of the building, in accordance with Central Lincolnshire Local Plan Policy S57 and guidance within the NPPF .

Mrs Slingsby addressed the Planning Committee raising concerns regarding the planning application, covering the following main points:

·         Expressed concerns over the lack of neighbour or community consultation and the notices were situated in a location not obvious and could therefore be considered as a way to deliberately hide the proposal nor be open and transparent.

·         Access had never been denied via No.3 Greenstone Place and therefore it was not understood why this application was required.

·         Concerns were raised regarding the applicant’s details being redacted from public notices.

·         The intentions behind the application were questioned and its potential future use was highlighted to the Committee.

Mr Groves, speaking on behalf of the applicant, addressed the Planning Committee, which included the following comment:

·         The intention behind the application was to enable the applicant to maintain the land and greenspace and also maintain the crumbling brickwork. The application enabled the applicant to do so.

The Committee discussed the content of the report in further detail, where the following points were noted:

·         The access current and proposed access arrangements were explained to the Committee.

·         Landownership was not a material planning consideration. Planning Committee was reminded that the planning application was for listed building consent only and any future potential proposals for future use would be subject to the planning process.

·         It was confirmed that under GDPR, the Council was required to redact certain information from published documents.

RESOLVED that the application be granted conditionally.

Conditions

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

            Reason: Imposed pursuant to Section 18 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990

02)      With the exception of the detailed matters referred to by the conditions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

(Note: At this point in proceedings, Councillor Mark Storer re-entered the meeting.)

The Assistant Director of Planning:

a)    advised that the application property was a block of flats located on the corner of Eastbourne Street and Winn Street. The wider block formed three flats at 34, 36 and 38 Eastbourne Street, which was a two storey building with a double open car port within a section of the ground floor;

b)    advised that the application proposed the installation of two sets of doors to the existing openings to form an internal communal bin store and storage area;

c)    the application was brought before Planning Committee as the City of Lincoln Council was the applicants and owners of the properties;

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

-       Policy S53: Design and Amenity

-       National Planning Policy Framework

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

-       National and Local Planning Policy

-       Impact on the amenity of nearby properties

-       Design and impact on visual amenity

-       Highway safety, access and parking

f)     outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise; and

g)    concluded that the proposals would not have detrimental impact on the residential and visual amenity of neighbouring properties in accordance with policy S53 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

The Committee discussed the content of the report in further detail. As part of the discussion, it was advised that any information on the access arrangements for residents to bins would have to be directed to the housing department, as this was not a material planning consideration.

RESOLVED that the application be granted conditionally.

Standard Conditions

-       Three years for implementation.

-       In accordance with approved drawings.

The Planning Team Leader:

a)    advised that the application proposed replacement of two existing entrance porches and decorative brickwork above to the rear of Mary Sookias House;

b)    advised that the building was positioned between terraced properties fronting Cecil Street;

c)    highlighted that the site was located within the Cathedral and City Centre Conservation Area No.1;

d)    the application was brought before Planning Committee as it had been submitted and was owned by the City of Lincoln Council;

e)    provided details of the policies pertaining to the application, as follows:

-       Policy S53: Design and Amenity

-       Policy S57: The Historic Environment

-       National Planning Policy Framework

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

-       Policy context and principle

-       Visual amenity and Impact on the Conservation Area

-       Residential amenity

-       Highways and parking

g)    outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise; and

h)    concluded that the alteration to the porches would not cause unacceptable harm to visual amenity, residential amenity or highway safety, in accordance with the relevant policies of the National Planning Policy Framework and Central Lincolnshire Local Plan.

The Committee discussed the content of the report in further detail. As part of discussion, it was confirmed that the width of the entrance porches were Equality Act compliant.      

RESOLVED that the application be granted conditionally.

Standard Conditions

-       Development shall be started within three years.

-       Development shall be carried out in accordance with the submitted drawings.