Issue - meetings

Proposed removal of vegetation, localised removal of topsoil, construction of a seawall, associated borrow dyke system and wave breaks and managed realignment of coastal flood defences by breaching of the existing seawall to create estuarine and coastal habitat comprised of approximately 76ha of intertidal mudflat, approximately 19ha of intertidal mudflat/saltmarsh transition, approximately 10ha of saltmarsh, approximately 5ha of sand and shingle and approximately 7ha of fresh/brackish water borrow dykes, together with associated engineering (including diversion of footpath), drainage and earthworks.

Before the Planning Officer presented this application, the Planning Solicitor made a statement on the Guidance for Members of the Planning Committee on the cancellation of the site visit. This was as follows:

“With the agreement of the Chairman of the Planning Committee (Councillor Fowler), it has been agreed that the organised site visit for the Agenda Item A.1 – 21/02144/FUL Land to the South East of Foulton Hall, Harwich Road, Little Oakley has been cancelled but the Committee meeting to determine this application will go ahead.

Whilst it is the Council’s standard local practice to undertake site visits, section 7 of the Planning Code and Protocol makes provision for an organised site visit to not be held where it is not possible due to exceptional circumstances and guidance has been given by the Council’s Monitoring Officer.

Site visits are not legally required for the determination of planning applications, but form part of local practice. It has been determined by the Council that it is not possible to organise a site visit for this application because many of the Members will be unable to walk to this site and visit key areas as the Committee bus will not be able to access the site. The closest drop off point is 2.68km away from where the works proposed would mainly take place and any attempts to visit the site may result in health and safety risks for that individual given the distance and uneven ground conditions likely to be encountered.

Instead, arrangements have been made by Officers to ensure that Members can gain a full understanding of the impact of the proposed development through additional supporting material that will be presented to Members of the Committee this evening.”

Members were informed that the application had been referred to the Planning Committee because it had been called in by the local Ward Councillor for The Oakleys and Wix. Moreover, the application had also been referred to the Planning Committee due to its strategic importance and interrelated nature with the Bathside Bay Container Terminal Development (from hereon in referred to as the BBCT development). Moreover, there was significant public interest in this development.

It was reported that in 2003, Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited (“HPUK”) had applied for planning permission for the construction of a new container terminal and related works at Bathside Bay, Harwich, and the provision of compensatory habitats at Little Oakley and Hamford Water. On 29 March 2006, permissions, inter alia, for reclamation works and a container terminal; a small boat harbour; the managed realignment of the coastline and creation of compensatory inter-tidal habitats off-site, and listed building consent in respect of the partial demolition of the long berthing arm attached to a listed Train Ferry Gantry had been granted by the Secretary of State, following concurrent Public Inquiries held between 20 April 2004 and 21 October 2004. Those developments (which included a similar realignment scheme the subject of this Officer report) had been subjected to rigorous assessments and had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94