Issue - meetings

The next application of the evening was introduced, planning application number 142542, to erect 3no. dwellings on land off 72 Scothern Road, Nettleham, Lincoln. There were no updates from the Officer and Members were presented with details of the application. The Chairman stated there had been one statement submitted by Miss Emma Truelove, applicant, and he invited the Democratic Services Officer to read the statement aloud. The following statement was made.

 “Dear Chairman,

Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee. We would like to send our apologies for not being present in person to deliver this statement to you.

The application site is within an area of land allocated housing in both the Nettleham Neighbourhood Plan (known as allocation B) and Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, where it is given the reference CL4661. 

The site is allocated in the Local Plan for an indicative capacity of 68 dwellings (and not 50 as stated in the objection from the Parish Council).  As such, the additional numbers proposed by this application represent a very minimal increase in overall capacity.

It is obviously worth noting that whist the figures quoted in the local plan serve as a useful guide, they are not prescriptive and nor should they be used as a barrier to growth.  Precise site capacity cannot reasonably be identified until the more advanced stages of planning when a site layout is considered.

As committee members will be aware, other developments that exceeded the ‘indicative capacity’ shown in the plan on allocated sites within the village have attracted similar concerns from the parish council, but those higher capacities were subsequently allowed on the basis of good planning and design.

The delivery of additional homes without compromising either site design or land-take should be welcomed, particularly in a popular village such as Nettleham where development.  Indeed, both the NPPF and the Local Plan advocate good design and the use of appropriate site densities to make best use of available land.

Paragraph 122 of the NPPF states that “Planning policies and decisions should support development that makes efficient use of land”.

In achieving well designed places paragraph 127 of the framework states that “Planning policies and decisions should ensure that developments…are sympathetic to local character and history, including the surrounding built environment and landscape setting, while not preventing or discouraging appropriate innovation or change (such as increased densities)”.

This planning application would not result in demonstrable harm as a result of the minor uplift in overall housing numbers proposed by this planning application.  Nor would this development cause harm to the local environment or setting, nor create a development that is wholly out of character with the village.

Instead, as confirmed by the planning officer’s positive recommendation, the development would continue to comply with the development plan when read as a whole, and it does not trigger any material policy conflicts that would justify the refusal of planning permission.

Accordingly, we trust that the Planning Committee will follow the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30