Minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting – Monday 7 December 2020
BRACKLA COMMUNITY COUNCIL
THE NEXT MEETING OF BRACKLA COMMUNITY COUNCIL
PLANNING COMMITTEE
Monday 7th December 2020 6.30pm
Via Video Link
Members Present
Cllr K Hughes – Chairperson
Cllr D Aston
Cllr E Capparos
Cllr I Hibble
Cllr T Walsh
Mrs R Keepins – Clerk of the Councl
Miss H May – Admin Officer
7 Apologies for absence
None
8 Declarations of interest
Cllr I Hibble declared a personal interest throughout, as he is a Civil Servant working for Welsh Government.
Cllr K Hughes declared a person interest in relation to planning application P/20/826/FUL – The White House Briary Way Brackla Bridgend CF31 2PT
9 PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Members discussed the applications and agreed the following observations.
P/20/810/FUL – Rockleaze Priory Oak Brackla CF31 2HZ
The Community Council expressed concerns regarding the application, both in relation to the size of the proposed structure and the removal of the six trees in order to accomplish this. Members commented that as this property is located alongside a public footpath, the removal of the trees and erection of such a large building will have significant impact on the visual amenity of the area including the footpath and the view from Princess Way. Members also expressed concern over the environmental impact of the removal of the trees and the fact that there is no detail contained within the application as to the functionality of the office and whether a business is to be run from the premises.
For these reasons detailed, the Community Council object to the application.
P/20/826/FUL – The White House Briary Way Brackla Bridgend CF31 2PT
The Community Council expressed strong concerns regarding this planning application, primarily due to the fact that it is retrospective, in that the majority of work has already been completed months ago but the Applicant states that the work has not yet started on the application.
Members referred to the history of this property, highlighting previous applications that have again been retrospective such as P/11/405/FUL which applied to regularise the boundary wall, P/14/634/FUL for a Retrospective Tree House Application as well as associated breaches of planning guidance such as in the case of P/19/531/FUL. P/19/531/FUL applied for a “Single storey extension and associated internal alterations” however a two-storey extension already existed that had not been approved as completed and the application was consequently amended mid process to request approval for this also. Members also referred to P/09/645/FUL where Condition 2 of the Decision Notice stating ‘No structure, erection or planting exceeding 0.6 metres in height above adjacent carriageway levels shall be placed within the required vision display area’ was later breached by the applicant yet subsequent applications and planning responses made no mention of this condition or breach.
Given the history associated with this property, with the consistent retrospective planning applications and breaches of planning conditions, Brackla Community Council ask that the Borough take due regard of this as well as the points raised below in considering this current application:
• The existing structure appears to breach planning guidance on safe heights of a wall built from 100mm block – ZONE 2 max height guideline 400mm:
• No planning consent has been given for the original electric gate which is 4m wide and approximately 2m high;
• SPG 02 note 7 states that planning applicants should ‘respect the residential amenity of neighbours and the character of the dwelling and its context’, which this structure does not;
• There is potential conflict with several of the secondary aims of SPG02;
• The surrounding fence and the size of the gate do not fit in to the visual amenity of Briarfields or indeed Brackla as a whole and is more like a ‘fortress’;
• No explanation has been provided by the applicant to justify the need for these measures including the additional “security fence” on top of a 1845mm high wall;
• The applicant has not identified himself in the application as the agent for the application as he is no longer the owner of the property;
• Several local residents have mentioned to local Councillors that they are unlikely to engage in this matter even though they object to it due to the history and lack of response from BCBC Planning department in the enforcement of planning conditions on this site;
• Members questioned whether this should be an enforcement issue rather than a retrospective planning application.
Based on the points raised above Brackla Community Council object to the current application P/20/826/FUL.
P/20/880/FUL – 56 Honeysuckle Way Brackla CF31 2NT
The Community Council expressed disappointment over the proposed removal of hedging identified in this application and questioned the need given that the National Trust is attempting to encourage the retention and planting of hedges for environmental reasons. Members also had concerns over the visual impact of this proposal on the area and fully support any objections raised by neighbours if they feel this would be an issue for them.
T/20/65/TPO – 16 Briary Way Brackla Bridgend CF31 2PT
The Community Council have no objections to the cutting back of the trees and removal of branches providing this is only 30% and not a full removal and that the neighbours are consulted as one of the trees appears to be leaning onto the neighbour’s fence. Members also wish to request that no work on these trees be undertaken between the months of April and November as this is bird nesting season.
10 BRACKLA COMMUNITY COUNCIL PLANNING WEBPAGE
The Chair explained that there were sometimes 4-5 week delays being experienced with the Borough Council’s website in the publishing of the latest planning applications. In light of this, he proposed that the Community Council establish a webpage as part of it’s own website where all the planning applications received by the Community Council could then be then advertised for local residents. As the Community Council receive these directly this would then provide the information and opportunity for members of the public to comment a lot earlier on in the process.
Resolved:
It was agreed that a webpage be set up on the Community Council website for the public to view current planning applications that have been received by Brackla Community Council. It was proposed that it include the application number and hopefully a link to Bridgend County Borough Council’s Website to allow the public to search for documents and more information and provide comment if necessary within the timeframe.
Meeting Closed at 7:30pm