Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room - Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1SE. View directions

Contact: Ian Ford Email:  iford@tendringdc.gov.uk or Telephone  01255 686584

Items
No. Item

1.

Chairman's Opening Remarks

Minutes:

The Chairman of the Committee (Councillor Turner) formally opened the meeting with the following remarks:-

 

“Good evening to fellow Members, our Officers, members of the public, especially Bill Marshall, and not forgetting the media.

 

We are already seeing the fruit of our previous hard work on the District Plan in the Appeal Decisions now coming through.

 

We have before us the next 5 Conservation Area Character Appraisal & Management Plans for:-

 

Harwich Old Town;

Manningtree & Mistley;

Frinton & Walton;

Brightlingsea; and

Great Bentley.

 

We are tasked to see if we can agree these to go forward to Cabinet for onward going out for public consultation.

 

Having read the report I have come to the conclusion that you need local knowledge to be able to properly understand each section of the report. That is why on receiving this report I sent it onto the local Ward Members asking them to comment and further asking for them to be put before the relevant Town and Parish Councils. All comments to be forwarded to Mr Guiver, our Director for Planning.

 

It is only this way that we can fine tune and make these effective tools for our communities, in particular, for shop frontages, building materials etc.

 

I did try and failed to get a pamphlet out to all property owners in our conservation areas with the rate demands sent out in March, to explain the extra responsibilities and expectations. The same applied to ‘Riparian’ owners. Most of the above are unaware of their obligations.

 

The report highlights the many common factors between all our conservation areas in regards to the opportunities for enhancement and management proposals found at the back of all the individual sections of the report. To that end I would like, if we are so minded to recommend this report to Cabinet, to share with the heads of Public Realm, Environment and Seafronts and the relevant County Councillor the parts of this document that apply to them. In particular, the comments relating to public realm, street furniture, lines and signs etc.

 

I am sure Mr Guiver has picked up on the comments re enforcement as has the new Portfolio Holder for Planning, Councillor Bray.

 

Finally, may I bring once again to the attention of those on both planning committees, whose town and parish councils have not yet agreed to a Neighbourhood Plan and to preparing a list of buildings, not mentioned in the report, to be considered for a ‘Local List’, to continue to pursue these objectives.

 

The Queen’s Speech highlighted once more this Government’s intentions to change the planning system yet again.”

2.

Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

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

 

Minutes:

An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor S A Honeywood.

3.

Minutes of the Last Meeting pdf icon PDF 257 KB

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Committee, held on Tuesday 11 January 2022.

Minutes:

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 11 January 2022 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

4.

Declarations of Interest

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.

 

Minutes:

Councillors Allen and Turner both declared for the public record that, in relation to Agenda Item 6 (report A.1) and specifically in relation to the Frinton & Walton Conservation Area Character Appraisal, they both resided within that Conservation Area and that they were also Members of Frinton & Walton Town Council.

 

Councillor Chapman BEM declared for the public record that, in relation to Agenda Item 6 (report A.1) and specifically in relation to the Brightlingsea Conservation Area Character Appraisal, she resided within that Conservation Area and that she was also a Member of Brightlingsea Town Council. In addition, Councillor Chapman stated that her business premises was specifically mentioned within report A.1.

 

Councillor Fowler declared for the public record that, in relation to Agenda Item 6 (report A.1) and specifically in relation to the Harwich Old Town Conservation Area Character Appraisal, she was a Member of Harwich Town Council.

 

 

5.

Questions on Notice pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 38

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.

Minutes:

On this occasion no Councillor had submitted notice of a question pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 38.

6.

Public Speaking pdf icon PDF 228 KB

The Council’s Public Speaking Scheme for the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee gives the opportunity for members of the public and other interested parties/stakeholders to speak to the Council’s elected members on the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee on any specific agenda item to be considered at that public meeting.

Minutes:

Pursuant to the provisions of the Council’s public speaking scheme for the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee, it was reported that no member of the public had registered to ask at this meeting a question or to make a statement regarding the matters contained in the report of the Acting Director (Planning).

 

7.

Report of Acting Director (Planning) - A.1 - Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plans for Harwich Old Town; Manningtree & Mistley; Frinton & Walton; Brightlingsea; and Great Bentley pdf icon PDF 218 KB

To report to the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee the second five ‘Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans’ prepared for the Council by Essex Place Services, and for the Committee to agree a recommendation to Cabinet that they be published for consultation purposes.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Earlier on in the meeting:-

 

Councillors Allen and Turner had both declared for the public record that, in relation to Agenda Item 6 (report A.1) and specifically in relation to the Frinton & Walton Conservation Area Character Appraisal, they both resided within that Conservation Area and that they were also Members of Frinton & Walton Town Council;

 

Councillor Chapman BEM had declared for the public record that, in relation to Agenda Item 6 (report A.1) and specifically in relation to the Brightlingsea Conservation Area Character Appraisal, she resided within that Conservation Area and that she was also a Member of Brightlingsea Town Council. In addition, Councillor Chapman had stated that her business premises was specifically mentioned within report A.1; and

 

Councillor Fowler had declared for the public record that, in relation to Agenda Item 6 (report A.1) and specifically in relation to the Harwich Old Town Conservation Area Character Appraisal, she was a Member of Harwich Town Council.

 

The Committee gave consideration to a comprehensive report of the Acting Director (Planning) (A.1) which submitted the second five ‘Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans’ prepared for the Council by Essex Place Services, and which sought the Committee’s recommendation to Cabinet that they be published for consultation.

 

The five Conservation Area Appraisals in question were:-

 

·      Harwich Old Town Conservation Area,

·      Manningtree and Mistley Conservation Area,

·      Frinton and Walton Conservation Area,

·      Brightlingsea Conservation Area, and

·      Great Bentley Conservation Area.

 

Areas of Assessment specific to an individual Conservation Area

 

Harwich Old Town

 

It was considered that a reduction of this Conservation Area to the north and east in order to exclude areas of sea was necessary in order to conform to Historic England’s Advice Note 1 - Conservation Area Appraisal, Designation and Management, whereby the contribution that the sea could make to the setting of a conservation area was highlighted in paragraph 59 therein.

 

There was a strong visual and historic relationship between Harwich and the sea; it was surrounded by water to the west, north and east, and still functioned as a working dock. Due to this proximity and association, the sea formed an important part of the setting of the Conservation Area. It contributed to an understanding of the development of Harwich, its character, and positively influenced how the public experienced the heritage asset. The contribution this land made to the setting of the Conservation Area would not be diminished through its removal from the boundary.

 

In addition, a small length of road, which made no contribution to the significance of the Conservation Area at the southern edge of the boundary was also proposed for removal in order to rationalise that boundary.

 

Manningtree & Mistley

 

It was proposed that the area north of Long Road, comprising agricultural land and allotments, be excluded from the Conservation Area as that land had little intrinsic historic significance or special interest and was therefore not considered appropriate to be included within the Conservation Area. However, this area did contribute to the setting and significance of the Conservation Area.

 

Modern  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.