10 Application No C17/1094/36/LL The Cross Foxes, Garndolbenmaen, Gwynedd PDF 277 KB
Change of use from pub dwelling.
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Stephen
Churchman
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Change of use from
public house to dwelling house
Attention
was drawn to the additional observations that had been received
a) The Planning Manager elaborated on the
background of the application, noting that the decision had been deferred at
the committee on 16 April 2018, in order to ask the representatives of the Garndolbenmaen Community Group for further information, in
the form of a realistic financial package, for their proposal to purchase the
building and keep it as a public house, along with evidence of a reasonable
financial package to purchase the property.
Since this
decision to defer, it was expressed that the application was now the subject of
a formal appeal to the Planning Inspectorate for non-determination within the
appropriate timescale. It was noted that
there was a formal procedure for dealing with non-determination appeals and it
was highlighted that the relevant regulations within Planning Legislation noted
the following:
For
Planning appeals where an appeal had been made regarding the Local Planning
Authority's failure to come to a decision on the application within the
specified period, there is a period of four weeks from the receipt of the
appeal where a Local Planning Authority has an opportunity to continue to
determine the application.
In this case, the
appeal had been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 18 April and a
decision was required by 16 May. Members were reminded that the application had
also been deferred at the Planning Committee on 26 February 2018 in order to give the local community group an
opportunity to present evidence of their intention to purchase the building in
order to retain its use as a public house.
It was noted, that
it was reasonable to consider that the existing use was not viable as a public
house. Information had been received with
the application from an accountancy firm, confirming that there had been a
decline in the business' turnover for some years.
It
was expressed that the officers' recommendation was clear in that the
application should be approved; however, reference was made to three options,
included in the report, highlighting the risks to the Council, and these were
open for the Committee to consider.
b) It
was proposed and seconded to approve the application in accordance with the officers'
recommendation that would mean that the appeal would end without any further
action, thus avoiding costs to the Council.
c) During the ensuing discussion, the following points were highlighted by
individual Members:
·
That
community assets received much more attention in England under the Localism
Act.
·
That
the Committee had already given the Community Group nine weeks - they should
keep to their word and keep to the timetable.
ch) In response to a question regarding the timetable, the Senior Planning Service Manager noted that the Committee was being forced to discuss the application due to appeal arrangements. He reiterated that he would wish to see the public house continue as a public house, but the business had been on the market since ... view the full minutes text for item 10
5 Application No. C17/1094/36/LL - The Cross Foxes, Garndolbenmaen PDF 172 KB
Change of use from pub to dwelling.
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Stephen Churchman
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Change of use
from public house to dwelling house.
(a) The
Planning Manager elaborated on the background of the application, noting that
the application had been deferred at the Committee held on 26 February 2018 in
order to give a local community group an opportunity to submit evidence of
their intention to purchase the building in order to retain its use as a public
house.
The Planning Committee's attention
was drawn to the fact that the proposal would not involve any external
structural change and the rest of the development's details were referred to in
the report along with late observations on the form submitted to the Committee.
In terms of the principle of the development, attention was drawn to paragraphs
5.1 and 5.2 which assessed the criteria of policy ISA2 and, having weighed up
the evidence submitted against the policy and the fact that it was highly
unlikely, based on the information to hand, that the building's use as a public
house would be reinstated on account of the costs and nature of the community,
it was believed that justification had been shown for the change of use.
An observation had been received from
the Economic Development Service that this type of rural public house business
faced a number of challenges, and that the information submitted had been
assessed and that it confirmed that it was not viable in its current form.
It was noted that the relevant
requirements in the policies had been adhered to, such as marketing the
building as a public house since 2010 and that there was justification for
changing the use as outlined in the assessment of the report. In addition, it
was noted that the Community Group in Garndolbenmaen had submitted information
regarding their intention to develop the public house, and reference was made
to the information in point 5.14 of the report. It was noted that there was no
doubt that the Group's intentions were genuine, but the Planning Authority had
to determine the application based on
policies that were current at the time the application was submitted and
within a specified amount of time. An application could not be refused based on
a third party wish rather than a genuine plan that could be realised; that is,
a decision could not remain unresolved until such a wish had been realised.
It was explained that the information
submitted referred to general information about the current situation, the
history of the site and the Group's future aspirations. Despite being a worthy cause, it was noted
that the evidence that this would happen in the near future was not indisputable.
After considering all relevant information
submitted, it was recommended to approve the application with the conditions
listed in the report.
(b) It was proposed and seconded to approve the application.
During
the ensuing discussion, the following main observations were noted by members:
· That nobody had been noted down on the form to speak, and the Community Group's spokesperson was here, therefore would it not ... view the full minutes text for item 5
5 Application No. C17/1094/36/LL - The Cross Foxes, Garndolbenmaen PDF 167 KB
Change of use from pub to dwelling.
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Stephen Churchman
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Change of use from public
house to dwelling house.
(a) The Planning Manager elaborated on the
background of the application and noted that the existing building provided a
public house facility on the ground floor and a living unit on the first floor.
It
was noted that Policy ISA 2 of the LDP stated that change of use of a community
facility should be withstood unless it would be possible to comply with one of
three options. Part iii. was relevant in this case, as it involved a facility
that was commercially run, and evidence of the following had to be presented:
·
That the current use had
ceased to be financially viable
·
That it could not
reasonable be expected it to become financially viable
·
That no other community
use could be established
·
That there was evidence
of genuine attempts to market the facility, which had been unsuccessful
Having weighed up the evidence submitted against
policy ISA 2 and the fact that it was highly unlikely, based on the information
to hand, that the building's use as a public house would be reinstated on
account of the costs and nature of the community, it was believed that
justification had been shown for the change of use.
An observation had been
received from the Economic Development service based on the information
submitted with the application, which stated that a rural public house business
of this type faced a number of challenges. They had assessed the information
submitted and that it confirmed that it was not viable in its current form.
Attention was drawn to additional observations that
had been received, noting that a concern had been noted in terms of the
evidence submitted. It was noted that the Joint Planning Policy Unit had noted
that the proposal must be considered in the context that the unit had been
empty for an extended period and that it had been marketed for a reasonable
price for a continuous period of 12 months. Evidence was received with the
application in relation to marketing the building unsuccessfully since 2011,
which was a significantly longer period than the required 12 months. It was
considered that the requirements of Policy MAN 4 of the LDP had been met.
Observations/objections to the proposal had been
received from local residents and a petition objecting to the proposal which
raised a number of matters relating to the proposed development and recent
history of the business.
It was believed that
sufficient evidence has been submitted to prove that the use as a public house
was not viable and although reference had been made in observations received to
an intention to attempt to buy it locally, there was no strong evidence to
suggest that the use was likely to be reinstated in the near future. It was,
therefore, believed that there was justification for the proposed change of use
to approve the building to be used as a house.
(b) Taking advantage of the right to speak, an objector noted the following main ... view the full minutes text for item 5