Venue: Neuadd Dwyfor, Stryd Penlan, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, LL53 5DE. View directions
Contact: Bethan Adams 01286 679020
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APOLOGIES To accept any apologies for absence. Minutes: Councillors
Simon Glyn, Louise Hughes, Elin Walker Jones and Dilwyn Lloyd. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST AND PROTOCOL MATTERS To receive any declaration of personal interest and to note protocol matters. Minutes: The following members
declared that they were local members in relation to the items noted: ·
Councillor
John Brynmor Hughes (not a member of this Planning Committee), in relation to
item 5.3 on the agenda (planning application no. C19/0027/39/LL); ·
Councillor
Annwen Daniels (not a member of this Planning Committee), in relation to item
5.4 on the agenda, (planning application number C19/0154/03/LL). The Members withdrew to the other side of the
Chamber during the discussion on the applications in question and did not vote
on these matters. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this
committee, held on, 10 June 2019, be signed as a true
record. Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee, that took place on 10 June 2019, as a true
record. |
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PLANNING APPLICATIONS To submit the report of the Head of Environment Department. Minutes: The Committee
considered the following applications for development. Details of the applications
were expanded upon and questions were answered in
relation to the plans and policy aspects. RESOLVED |
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Application No. C19/0149/46/LL - Congl y Cae, Llangwnadl, Pwllheli PDF 147 KB Demolish existing outbuilding and construct a
single storey extension to dwelling and conversion of outbuilding into 2
holiday units. LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor
Simon Glyn Link
to relevant background documents Additional documents: Minutes: Demolish existing
outbuilding and construct a single-storey extension to dwelling and conversion
of outbuilding into two holiday units (a)
The
Planning Manager elaborated on the background of the application, noting that
this application was deferred at the Committee meeting
on 20 May 2019 in order to have an
opportunity to consider the context of appeal number (C18/0023/42/LL),
which was refused for reasons relating to an excess of second homes in the
area. It was noted that as a result of the figures
noted in the appeal decision, it was considered necessary to re-assess the
application against the relevant figures. It was noted that an
application for the 'Demolition of outbuilding attached the house and erect a single-storey
extension in its place', which formed part of the submitted application, had
been approved on 28 June 2019. It was
reported that an appeal for a lack of decision had been registered with
the Planning Inspectorate. It was explained that
should the application be refused or deferred, the appeal would continue. Attention was drawn to additional comments received, which included
the observations of the Business Support Unit of the Economy and Community
Department on the robustness of the business plan. It was noted that Policy
TWR 2 of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Joint Local Development Plan (JLDP) permitted
proposals to convert existing buildings such as agricultural buildings into
holiday accommodation as provided they complied with five criteria. Reference was made to criterion 'v', which required that 'The
development does not lead to an excess of such accommodation in the area.' It was
revealed that the applicant, in accordance with the requirements of
Policy TWR 2, had submitted a comprehensive business plan that included
investment figures, costs and projected letting figures, and it was considered
that its content was realistic and demonstrated the viability as holiday use.
The Business Support Unit of the Economy and Community Department agreed with
these findings, and were satisfied that it was a suitable business plan for the
application. It was noted that
over-concentration had been assessed in the context of the Supplementary
Planning Guidance: Holiday Accommodation and the appeal decision on Tŷ’n Pwll, Nefyn It was revealed that the assessment had confirmed
that 14% of the domestic units in the area of Tudweiliog
Community Council were second homes, therefore this was higher than the 10%
threshold used by the Inspector on the appeal in Nefyn. It was
explained that the applicant did not agree with the figures, and noted
that the majority of second homes were not let, and that he disagreed with the
grounds to which the over-concentration was assessed. It was noted that despite the applicant's arguments and although all the other TWR 2 matters were acceptable, on the basis of the current above figures and in light of the Inspector's decision and assessment on the Ty'n Pwll, Nefyn appeal, a recommendation to refuse the application had to be made on the grounds of an over-provision of such accommodation and contrary to ... view the full minutes text for item 5.1 |
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Application No. C18/1133/14/LL - Cwm Cadnant Valley, Llanberis Road, Caernarfon PDF 138 KB Replacing 32 touring caravan pitches with 25 holiday lodges for year round holiday use. LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Cemlyn Williams Additional documents: Minutes: Replace 32 touring caravan
pitches with 25 holiday lodges for year round holiday use. (a)
The Planning Manager elaborated on the
background to the application, and noted that the proposal involved locating 25
holiday units within a concealed site and within the built environment and it
was considered that this proposal would not lead to an over-concentration of
similar static caravan/chalet sites in the vicinity of the application and
that, in itself, it would not have a substantial and significant impact on the
character and amenities of the local landscape. It was explained
that the proposal would reduce the density of the use of the current site, by
replacing 32 touring caravans. Given its concealed
location within the townscape; its scale which was less dense
than the current use and the fact that it appeared that the holiday
accommodation and the overall site would provide high quality facilities, the
proposal was acceptable. It was revealed that there
were flooding issues on parts of the site, and that
the applicant had moved the chalets from the part that suffered flooding, and
that there was no access within the flood zone. It was noted
that Natural Resources Wales was satisfied with the proposal. The development was
acceptable in terms of relevant local and national policies for the reasons
noted 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: ·
There
were many static unit sites in the area, and the number of static units in the
area was way above the threshold of over-concentration. Of the opinion that
converting a static caravan site into a permanent static units site was a step
too far; ·
With
regard to the Tourism Unit's concern regarding the overprovision of static
units and the lack of touring sites in the Caernarfon area, what assessment had been made? The number of touring caravan sites in the
area needed to be protected; ·
The
proposal would mean less transport, and would not be visible from anywhere; ·
The
development was better than the existing development. Would the applicant sell
or let the chalets? ·
The
proposal would be an improvement to the site, with a reduction in the number of
units. The Town Council did not object the proposal,
it was not possible to restrict the use of the site to 11 months in accordance
with their wish, but imposing a holiday use condition only/keeping a register
would ensure that the chalets would not be occupied as permanent homes. (c) In response to the above
observations, the officers noted: ·
In the context of Policy TWR 3 of the JLDP, over-concentration was assessed in terms of the capacity of the local landscape
for additional holiday chalet or caravan developments. The development would
not be visible in the landscape; · That the Tourism Unit's wish was to have more touring sites. That there were touring sites in the area and there was potential in the landscape for new ... view the full minutes text for item 5.2 |
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Application No. C19/0027/39/LL - Land near Drws y Llan, Llanengan, Pwllheli PDF 182 KB Construction of 2 affordable houses (revised application). LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor John Brynmor Hughes Additional documents: Minutes: Construction of two
affordable dwellings (amended application).
(a) The Planning Manager
elaborated on the background of the application and noted that the site was in
the countryside on the outskirts of the housing cluster of Llanengan.
It was explained that Policy TAI 6 of the JLDP was the
relevant housing policy for clusters, and this could enable the construction of
houses in clusters if compliance could be secured with all criteria contained
in the policy. Details were given on the criteria: ·
Criterion
1: 'The need for an affordable house for local need (in accordance with the
List of Terms) has been proven' - That the need for an affordable house for the
initial occupiers of house number 1 had been proven, but the need for an
affordable house for the occupiers of house number 2 had not been proven. In
light of this, the proposal does not fully meet criterion 1 with regard to
proving the need for affordable housing. ·
Criterion 2: 'The site is an infill site,
between buildings highlighted on the relevant Inset Map, or a site directly
opposite the curtilage of a coloured building' - The application site was not
an infill site as it was not located directly adjacent to the curtilage of a
coloured building with the county road between the road coloured in red and the
site.
The New Houses in Rural Villages Supplementary Planning Guidance gave an idea
of the type of sites which were acceptable, and that
sites where there was a road between the building coloured in red and the site
were not suitable. ·
There
was no concern with regard to criterion 3 and 4. ·
Criterion
5: 'The size of the property reflects the specific need for an affordable house
in terms of the size and the number of bedrooms' - The houses in question were
two-storey with an internal floor surface area of approximately 116m2.
Since the application was submitted, a new
Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) Affordable Housing has been adopted. It
could be seen that the size of the affordable houses had been reduced in
comparison to the previous Affordable Housing SPG; now, the size for a
two-storey, 5 person, three bedroom house was 94
square metres. It was not considered that the size of
the houses reflected the size of affordable properties. ·
There
was no concern with regard to criterion 6. · Criterion 7: 'There are mechanisms to restrict the occupancy of the house initially and in perpetuity to those who have a need for an affordable house' - As part of the application, an estimate was received for the proposed houses, which was prepared by Beresford Adams. The estimate noted that the open market price for the houses would be £325,000. A 45% discount linked to the Affordable Housing 106 agreement would not make the houses affordable for other families in the area. There had been instances in the parish of Llanengan in the past, where house prices were high and, therefore they were ... view the full minutes text for item 5.3 |
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Application No. C19/0154/03/LL - Market Hall, Church Street, Blaenau Ffestiniog PDF 131 KB Conversion
of building to 14 flats. LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor
Annwen Daniels Additional documents: Minutes: Conversion of building into
14 flats. (a) It
was reported that late observations had been received from the Language Unit,
which noted that they did not feel that sufficient information had been submitted
by the developer in order to be able to form a full opinion on the impact of
the development on the Welsh language; and, due to a lack of clarity in the
developer's documents, the standpoint that there would be no impact could not
be supported.
The Committee was requested to defer the application
in order to discuss with the applicant, and to understand the linguistic
situation in the context of what was being offered as part of the proposal. A proposal to undertake a
site visit was made and seconded. A vote was taken on the proposal, but it fell. RESOLVED to defer the application. |
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Application No. C19/0323/11/LL - 233-235, Stryd Fawr, Bangor PDF 119 KB Conversion of first and second floor into 8
self-contained residential units together with alterations to the front
elevation of the building. LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor
Steve Collings Additional documents: Minutes: Alterations to the first
and second floors to create eight self-contained living units, along with
modifications to the front elevation of the building. (a)
The Planning Manager elaborated on the
background of the application, and it was noted that
Policy TAI 9 of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Local Development Plan (JLDP)
permitted the subdivision of existing properties into self-contained flats,
provided they complied with the relevant criteria. It was noted
that the Housing Mix Statement submitted by the applicant stated that there was
a lack of provision with regard to one-bedroom units in Bangor. The information received from the Housing Strategy Unit confirmed a
lack of provision with regard to this type of accommodation, stating that there
were 940 applicants on the Council's Housing Options Team register who wished
to obtain one-bedroom units in the Bangor area; and that approving this
application would go some way toward responding to the demand for social
housing of this kind. It was confirmed
that although the proposal did not provide more units than the indicative
housing provision, the applicant had voluntarily submitted a Language and
Community Statement. It was noted that the Language
Unit had concluded that the development itself would not have a significant
impact on the character and linguistic character of the community. The development was acceptable in terms
of relevant local and national policies for the reasons noted in the report. It was recommended
to impose an additional condition to what was stated in the report, in order to
ensure a waste bin/storage provision to satisfy the needs of the units
permitted. (b) It was proposed and
seconded to approve the application. During the ensuing discussion, the following main observations were noted by members: ·
There
was an increasing number of applications to modify buildings into residential
units in Bangor, and that there was a need to question whether there was any
demand for these types of units; ·
940
applicants who were on the Council's Housing Options Team register wished to
obtain one-bedroom units in the area; ·
Many
applications of this kind were being approved, but not being developed; A
concern that the applications would be implemented at the same time, leading to
an influx of new one or two bedroom units at the same time; ·
There
was no parking provision on the site - although there were public transport
links, car parks and streets were full as employees parked all day, meaning
that there were no parking areas for visitors. The situation needed to be monitored. (c) In response to the above
observations, an officer noted: ·
Monitoring work would be undertaken and consideration would
be given to planning permissions and those that were being implemented
in the context of the JLDP in its entirety. RESOLVED to approve
the application. Conditions: 1. Five years. 2. In accordance with the
plans. 3. Ensure that two of the units
are affordable by submitting an affordable housing scheme. 4. A waste/bin storage provision to satisfy
the needs of the units. |
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Application No. C19/0414/18/LL - Rhiwlas Wastewater Treatment Works, Rhiwlas, Bangor PDF 89 KB Extend
existing water treatment works to accommodate ancillary equipment and
landscaping. LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor
Elwyn Jones Link
to relevant background documents Additional documents: Minutes: Extension of existing water
treatment works site to install appliances, equipment and landscaping (a) The Planning Manager
elaborated on the background of the application, and it was
noted that the principle of approving developments for utilities'
infrastructure such as water supply was based on Policy ISA 1 of the Gwynedd
and Anglesey Local Development Plan. Considering the scale and nature of this
development in mind, it was considered that the
proposal was acceptable in principle. The development was
acceptable in terms of relevant local and national policies for the reasons
noted in the report. (b) In response to an enquiry
from a member, the Planning Manager noted that although the
application was submitted by Welsh Water, observations were submitted as
part of the statutory consultation from a different Unit from within Welsh
Water. RESOLVED to approve
the application. Conditions: 1. Five years. 2. In accordance with the plans. 3. Landscaping. 4. Comply with the mitigation
measures of the Preliminary Ecological Report. |