Issue - meetings

The Chairman introduced the next application of the meeting, Item 6(b), application number 145735, relating to the construction of 20 affordable dwellings on land south of Wesley Road, Cherry Willingham.  This application had been deferred at the last meeting to enable a site visit to be undertaken.  The site visit had taken place on 20 April 2023.The proposal was a re-submission of application number 143260 which had been refused by the Committee on 4^th November 2021.

This application proposed the erection of 20 fully affordable dwellings in a semi detached and terraced format. This also included 4 bungalows in the south east corner of the site. The dwelling types were 4 one bed bungalows, 10 two bed houses and 6 three bed houses.

The Planning Officer presented the report, concerning which there were no updates.

The Chairman welcomed Mr James Collins, agent for the applicants, who addressed the Committee along the following lines:-

“My name is James Collins and I am the agent acting on behalf of Cherry Tree Homes, the applicants, which is a small local family business. I would like to thank the Committee for taking the time to visit the site last week.

During that visit, the Committee raised some questions about the adjacent development land. I would just like to point out that this land is not owned by Cherry Tree Homes, and we have no intention of developing that land in the future.

This application is a re-submission of a previously rejected scheme considered by the Committee in November 2021 which had a recommendation for approval from the Planning Officer, Highways Authority and the Parish Council.

We have revised the scheme in light of the Committee's previous comments, reducing the density from 21 units to 20 units. The revised scheme also has a recommendation for approval from the Planning Officer, Highways Authority and the Parish Council.

The roads on the site will be built to adoptable standards and we have submitted a swept path analysis which demonstrates the roads are adequate for bin wagons and emergency vehicles and delivery vehicles. The site has access and egress from both Hawthorn Road and Wesley Road via Hawthorn Avenue. There are two link roads between our site and the adjacent Cherry Paddock site, which is not owned by Cherry Tree Homes and was not developed by Cherry Tree Homes.

The Parish Council has wanted to provide a footpath link from Little Cherry to Green Lane for many years to improve pedestrian access to the village. This scheme would deliver that link and whilst this would not be a tarmac footpath or have street lighting, it would offer an additional link to the village which would be of benefit to the community.

The connecting road to the adjacent undeveloped land has been provided to ensure continuity for future development, providing a cohesive design which considers pedestrian and vehicular movements through the applicant’s site and the adjacent Cherry paddock site. As previously stated, Cherry Tree Homes do not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 126