Minutes:
Opening Remarks
“Good evening fellow Councillors, Officers and members of the public, welcome to the first Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee of this new Council. I would like to thank the new Administration for their allowing me to continue in my role as your Chairman. It is an honour and one I do not take lightly.
I would also like to thank and welcome the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing, Councillor Andy Baker, and the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Councillor Maria Fowler, for attending our meeting. I will ask each of them for their comments before each vote is taken.”
Report A.1 – Introductory Remarks
“We have before us this evening the last three of our 20 conservation area appraisals. Ardleigh, Great Holland and Tendring village. The recommendation is on page 13 of our Agenda.
The report shows that living in conservation areas adds to the health and wellbeing of the residents. The residents also have certain permitted development rights removed. This we explained in a leaflet that went out with this year’s rates demand.
The twenty conservation areas (CAs) are important to Tendring on various levels but in particular, to helping to maintain and enhance the communities they are sited in. The rateable value is often higher. Yet the Council offers no extras. To keep a pleasant place to live, one is in fact penalised through paying higher rates and having more restrictions imposed upon them.
Turning to the appraisals themselves, there appears to be a lack of joined up working between Place Services, Town & Parish and District. I draw our attention to pages 100 & 129 of the Great Holland CA. This is where Place Services consider that two large new dwellings are shown to have a negative effect. Yet both the Frinton & Walton Town Council and this Council approved. No comments are recorded from Essex County Council on that application, except Highways. I do hope that our recommendations will help to close and rectify these anomalies.
Far too often we find glaring loopholes. I have two such in my Ward at present. Both very different and both upsetting to the neighbours and both detracting from the CA by reducing the value of the street scene and the health and wellbeing of the residents.
There could be a mechanism to address this. It is an Article 4 Direction. This has to be specific and local. It cannot be a general blanket policy. Before we met, I spoke with Gary about these very annoying loopholes and his Team will prepare a paper for us in the not too distant feature identifying those Conservation Areas where an Article 4 Direction could be beneficial and what restrictions those Directions could put in place. This is where we Councillors together with Parish & Town Councils can bring local knowledge to bear and see if we cannot rid our CAs of these annoying, detracting and reducing carbuncles.
We also have the timeline of these appraisals and management recommendations that we agree. It seems to take an inordinate amount of time from leaving this Committee to being adopted as Supplementary Planning Documents. Can this process be speeded up? Further comments that we can ask and look to advise those living and working in our CAs.
All regional, national and international retail companies have heritage designs. I have yet to see one in Tendring. I would draw your attention to the Co-Op store at Dedham. A village that I lived and worked in for five years in the late 1970s. It certainly did not look like that then. It can be done and must be done.
There is also the problem of plastic windows, guttering, fascias and general upkeep of properties. We must not go too far in our suggestions and zeal! That is for the grade listing to do. Living in Frinton’s CA means to me that I am a custodian of my property and I will try to leave it better than found for the next owner. That is the idea! Now we have climate change and all the extra costs that brings to those owning older properties.
I do think we should be offering residents a guiding light in how to adapt their properties. In particular, regarding solar panels, glazing and insulation. There are cost effective ways of doing this. These three and the 17 other reports points the way, but is really not much use to CA residents. I am sure that with Officer help this Committee can come up with a more pragmatic approach that will aid and abet our CA property owners.”
Report A.2 – Introductory Remarks
“The National Grid has made some revisions to its Norwich to Tilbury power line proposal and are running a further round of consultation. These changes bring little comfort to our communities that will be affected. Not only are we faced with this pylon and substation proposal and the on-shore infrastructure associated with the Five Estuaries and North Falls windfarm proposals; we now also face the prospect of a third scheme encroaching on and interfering with our District. This is the Tarshon interconnector. It is proposed to join the UK’s grid to Germany’s and will allow for electricity to flow both ways.”
Agenda Item 8
“I have started the process of the five year review of our excellent Local Plan. This an A to Z approach. Seeing what policies work, what are not performing as well as expected, what needs updating, reinforcing or being left well alone! I would welcome any thoughts, suggestions and views from any Members and, in particular, from those sitting on this Committee and the Planning Committee.”