Agenda item

In respect of application numbered S/18/1403/TB (Erection of up to 100no. dwellings and associated works without compliance with condition 11 of consent S/OUT/14/1005, Land at Berkeley Farm, Swindon Road, Wroughton) the Committee considered: -

          Name                                 Address/Organisation

          Jammie Taylor                    Local Resident

          Hannah Dosanjh                  Wroughton Parish Council

          Councillor Cathy Martyn       Ward Councillor

          Councillor Brian Ford           Ward Councillor

Councillors Nick Burns-Howell, Malcolm Davies, Jenny Jefferies, Nick Martin, Stan Pajak, Jim Robbins, Vera Tomlinson and Peter Watts spoke in respect of this application.

Submissions in support of the application can be broadly summarised as:

·       That the application was approved following an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate and Reserved Planning Matters were subsequently approved.

·       The application was to amend the trigger point for the installation of a pedestrian crossing to the construction of 95 dwellings rather than occupation of dwellings and to clarify the planning obligation.

·       That the Planning Authority needed to be reasonable and practical in agreeing and enforcing conditions at an initial stage.

·       The development was approved through an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate followed a failure to demonstrate a 5 year housing land supply.

·       That an agreement of a trigger point for the construction of a crossing provided the Local Planning Authority will more control in an enforcement scenario.

Submissions opposing the application can be broadly summarised as:

·       That the developer should have provided a crossing when properties were occupied and they had failed to do and therefore failed in their planning obligation.

·       That there was a safety issue due to the absence of a crossing as this would increase with the number of properties being occupied.

·       That initially the developer had applied to remove the requirement of a crossing from the planning permission granted.

·       A crossing was needed opposition the Lister’s estate which is where school children would cross the road which a busy road.

·       That the crossing should be in the form of a zebra crossing with an island in the middle of the road.

·       That enforcement action should be taken against the developer in accordance with Section 58 of the National Policy Framework following a temporary 28 day stop notice under Section 171(e) of the Town Country Planning Act 1990.

·       The development was outside of Wroughton’s settlement boundary and not identified in the Neighbourhood Plan as access to the village’s facilities required either crossing a busy road or using a car thus making the site unsustainable.

·       The site was an overdevelopment of the site and was one of a number of development off Swindon road and the increase I the number of properties could act on a precedent.

·       The trigger point for the installation of a crossing for the development had been proposed by the developer and had not been agreed on highway safety grounds and that officers should investigate lowering the trigger point for the pedestrian crossing below the prosed 95^th Dwelling.

·       There was an expectation that conditions attached to planning consents would be carried out in their entirety.

·       The concern that should the development be delayed for any reason this would further delay the installation of a pedestrian crossing.

Resolved – That consideration of application numbered S/18/1403/TB be deferred in order to allow the Head of Planning, Regulatory Services and Heritage to undertake further discussions with the developer (Linden Homes (Thames Valley)) to secure a more appropriate trigger point for the provision of the crossing conditioned as part of the planning permission granted upon appeal by the Planning Inspectorate.