Agenda and minutes

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Placey, with Councillor Allen substituting.

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Committee, held on

It was moved by Councillor Bray, seconded by Councillor V Guglielmi and RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on Wednesday 17 March 2021 be approved as a correct record.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

Councillor Harris declared a personal interest in Planning Application 20/00822/FUL – THE LAURELS PARSONAGE LANE TENDRING CLACTON ON SEA due to being the Ward Member. He informed the Committee that he was not pre-determined and that he would therefore take part in the Committee’s deliberations.

Councillor V Guglielmi declared a personal interest in Planning Application 20/01385/FUL – 2 HIGH STREET MANNINGTREE CO11 1AD due to being the Ward Member. She informed the Committee that she was not pre-determined and that she would therefore take part in the Committee’s deliberations.

Subject to providing two working days’ notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.

There were none on this occcasion.

The application was previously referred to the Planning Committee at the request of Councillor Harris on behalf of Tendring Parish Council by virtue of the site being ‘backfill’ development, the site is outside of the settlement boundary; the site is an unsustainable development with insufficient infrastructure; overdevelopment, the development would lead to unacceptable disturbance to neighbours; unacceptable access and highways issues; and there is no proven need for this type of property in an area that has already seen significant development.

The application was previously deferred to enable clarification on matters regarding drainage to be obtained. The application was again deferred at the last meeting of the Committee as Essex County Council’s (ECC) Highways Department (a statutory consultee) had submitted, very late on, a further letter of representation in which it had now amended its original recommendation of approval of the application to one of refusal on highway safety grounds. As a result of this the application had been once more deferred in order to allow all interested parties in this application the opportunity to comment and respond to ECC’s change of opinion.

Councillor Harris had earlier in the meeting declared a personal interest in this application as he was the Ward Member. He had informed the Committee that he was not pre-determined and therefore took part in the Committee’s deliberations.

Members were reminded that this application had been originally submitted to the Planning Committee at the request of Councillor Harris (who had acted on behalf of Tendring Parish Council) by virtue, in their considered opinion of the site: “being ‘backfill’ development, the site was outside the settlement boundary; the site was an unsustainable development with insufficient infrastructure; overdevelopment, the development would have led to unacceptable disturbance to neighbours; unacceptable access and highways issues; and there was no proven need for this type of property in an area that had already seen significant development.”

The Planning Committee on its first consideration of this application had deferred a decision in order to seek clarification on matters regarding drainage and other relevant matters.

The Committee was reminded that the application related to what was essentially the rear garden area of The Laurels, Parsonage Lane, Tendring.  The site was roughly ‘L’ in shape and approximately 0.2 hectares in size.  The Laurels was one of a variety of dwelling types in the locale which comprised of detached and terraced two-storey, chalet and single-storey bungalows.  The Laurels was unique in terms of its rear garden which was of a significant size in comparison to any other dwelling in the settlement.

The site was centrally located within the Tendring Green Settlement Development Boundary as defined within both the adopted Tendring District Local Plan 2007 and the emerging Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 and Beyond Publication Draft 2017. The principle of residential development in this location was therefore considered to be acceptable subject to detailed design and impact considerations.

The application sought full planning permission for the erection of 3 detached three-bedroom detached single-storey bungalows, served by way of a single access providing access to a parking/turning area.  The dwellings would be provided with surface parking and secure cycle-storage.

Members were informed that the proposal would not result in the loss of an area of public open space or safeguarded green space. The proposed bungalows were of a scale, design and appearance which was comparable with other bungalows in the vicinity.  The retention of the brick-built garage provided a significant degree of screening from the public domain.  The proposal would result in the loss of ten trees in total and as the site did not benefit from any protection in the form of preservation orders, as such any trees could be removed without any consent required from the Local Planning Authority.  Two of those trees were damaged/dangerous having limited life expectancy, five were small fruit trees and the remaining three were not mature or established specimens – all mature, established trees were to remain and offer a significant verdant backdrop to the site.  The proposed dwellings were single storey and located a sufficient distances from neighbouring dwellings so as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

The application has been referred to the Planning Committee by the Councillor G Guglielmi due to the loss of the commercial premises in the ‘Primary and main Shopping Frontage of Manningtree High Street’. 

The host building is a Grade II Listed Building located in the Town Centre of Manningtree and within Manningtree Conservation Area. The former bank has obtained planning permission in 2017 for a retail unit at ground floor facing the High Street, with six flats making up the rest of the building and a separate dwelling-house to the rear.

Councillor V Guglielmi had earlier in the meeting declared a personal interest in this application as she was a local Ward Member. She had informed the Committee that she was not pre-determined and therefore took part in the Committee’s deliberations.

Members were advised that the application had been referred to the Planning Committee by the Councillor G Guglielmi due to his concerns about the loss of the commercial premises in the ‘Primary and main Shopping Frontage of Manningtree High Street’. 

It was reported that the site was located inside the Development Boundary for Manningtree as defined within both the adopted Tendring District Local Plan 2007 and the emerging Tendring District Local Plan 2013-2033 and Beyond Publication Draft 2017.

The host building was a Grade II Listed Building and former bank located in the Town Centre of Manningtree and within Manningtree Conservation Area. Planning permission had been obtained in 2017 for a retail unit at ground floor facing the High Street, with six flats making up the rest of the building and a separate dwelling-house to the rear.

The host building was not within the Primary Shopping Frontage area as designated by policy ER33.

Members were informed that a similar application to the current application had been submitted and refused in 2020 which had also looked to convert the ground floor retail unit to a residential use. The four reasons of refusal on that occasion had been:

•           Poor levels of residential amenity internally and externally.

•           Development proposed is within a Flood Risk 3 with Flood Risk implications.

•           Unacceptable impact on the Listed Building and the Conservation Area.

•           Lack of RAMS payment in accordance with the habitat regulations.

However, Officers considered that the current application had overcome those concerns.

The Committee was advised that the proposed development would not result in any material harm to the character of the area, residential amenities or highway safety. The application had therefore been recommended for approval by Officers subject to conditions and in conjunction with a completed legal agreement.

The Committee had before it the published Officer report containing the key planning issues, relevant planning policies, planning history, any response from consultees, written representations received and a recommendation of approval.

At the meeting, an oral presentation was made by the Council’s Planning Officer (NW) in respect of the application.

An update sheet had been circulated to the Committee prior to the meeting with confirmation in writing that theEnvironment Agency on 12 April 2021, had removed their objection to the application, with the suggested Planning Condition changes set out below:

“3        The development hereby approved shall be carried out in its entirety as shown on the submitted plans. One residential unit may be occupied before works to the front facade of the building and new shop front have been installed and the works carried out in accordance with the schedule agreed within application 20/01722/FUL.

Reason - The development has been permitted due to the significant benefits that would result  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.