STIRLING COUNCIL
MINUTES of MEETING of the PLANNING & REGULATION PANEL held in COWIE
COMMUNITY CENTRE, TUESDAY 27 JUNE 2017 at 10.00 am
Present
Councillor Alasdair MacPherson (in the Chair)
Councillor Maureen BENNISON
Councillor Alistair BERRILL
Councillor Douglas DODDS
Councillor Bryan FLANNAGAN
Councillor Chris KANE
Councillor Graham LAMBIE
Councillor Jeremy McDONALD
Councillor Evelyn TWEED
In Attendance
Jane Brooks-Burnett, Senior Planning Officer, Localities & Infrastructure
Jay Dawson, Team Leader – Development Management, Localities & Infrastructure
Neil Pirie, Senior Control Development Officer, Localities & Infrastructure
Iain Strachan, Chief Officer – Governance, Localities & Infrastructure (Clerk)
Mary Love, Committee Officer, Localities & Infrastructure (Minutes)
PL001 APOLOGIES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
There were no apologies or substitutions.
PL002 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
PL003 URGENT BUSINESS BROUGHT FORWARD BY THE CHAIR
There were no items of urgent business.
PL004 RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF UP TO 433 HOMES, 0.7 HECTARES OF LAND, NATURE PARK, ROUNDABOUT AND ASSOCIATEDAT LAND TO SOUTH OF BANNOCKBURN ROAD AND WEST OF BOWLING CLUB, MAIN STREET, COWIE - TAYLOR WIMPEY
UK LTD - 14/00546/PPP – HEARING
A report by the Senior Manager, Infrastructure, advised of an application from Taylor Wimpey, who were seeking planning permission in principle for residential development on a site on the western edge of Cowie. A planning permission in principle application means that details such as, housing types etc were confirmed in future application(s). The application was brought to Planning & Regulation Panel as it was a Major planning application under the terms of The Town and Country Planning (Hierarchy of Developments) (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
The application was initially brought before Members at the Planning and Regulation Panel Meeting on 13 April 2017, where the Panel agreed to defer consideration of the application pending a site visit and Hearing. The site visit took place this morning, prior to the Planning and Regulation Meeting.
The Officer recommendation was to refuse the application for the reasons set out in the report.
The Senior Planning Officer highlighted two amendments she wished to make to the report, in terms of the recommendation and requested that paragraph 2.1 was deleted, as the applicant recently (June 2017) altered their position to provide 25% of the units as affordable. Paragraph 2.2 would then become paragraph 2.1 with ‘contributions to transport infrastructure’ also being deleted from the paragraph.
The Senior Planning Officer then went on to introduce the report, which provided details of (a) the site; (b) the proposal; (c) previous history and (d) development policy.
The Senior Planning Officer highlighted that the development site did not comply with figures cited within Stirling Council’s Supplementary Guidance (SG15) with regard to education provision. It was also noted that despite repeated requests following consultation, NHS Forth Valley (NHSFV) had not responded, which raised concerns, as their contribution had to be proportionate and identifiable as part of the development.
The Senior Planning Officer responded to questions from the Panel. The Team
Leader, Development Management confirmed that the Council’s SG15 document was adopted in 2014 and was still in place however, going forward, it may be reviewed at some point.
In response to a question from a Member as to whether NHSFV had responded to other applications, the Senior Planning Officer confirmed that Stirling Council had no experience beyond this with regard to a contribution requirement.
Agents for Applicant
Pauline Mills, Land & Planning Director, Taylor Wimpey, East Scotland and Bob Salter, Director,Geddes Consulting, presented the case is support of the application. It was noted that the site together with the land controlled by Omnivale would deliver up to 500 homes, new nature park, 0.8 ha of serviced employment land along with off-site improvements and funds for necessary infrastructure to mitigate the impact of the development. A proposed roundabout on Bannockburn Road would be delivered at a cost of £260k along with 25% affordable housing requirements through tenures to be
agreed with the Council. It was noted that Taylor Wimpey could not meet the estimated cost of £3.5m for the education requirements set out in the Council’s Supplementary Guidance (£1.4m for primary schooling and £2.1 for secondary schooling) however, it was highlighted that Taylor Wimpey did intend to pay for the full cost of the impact of their development on school capacity for the area.
In carrying out the school impact assessment Taylor Wimpey’s modelling confirmed that they required to fund an additional classroom at Cowie Primary School costing £350k along with a 20% share, towards a four class extension to Bannockburn High School at a cost of £1.5m, amounting to £300k. It was confirmed by Mr Salter that Taylor Wimpey could not meet all of the infrastructure costs required by the Council’s SG15 on education provision, which Taylor Wimpey were of the opinion, was now out of date and needed revising, to model existing circumstances, including future house building.
Pauline Mills and Bob Salter responded to questions from Members.
Members expressed concern with regard to the non-response from NHSFV and
Pauline Mills highlighted that there had been various applications where NHSFV had previously engaged with Taylor Wimpey.
The Chair thanked Pauline Mills and Bob Salter for their presentation.
Representing the Community
Clare Stevenson and Margaret Bain Hughes spoke to Members on behalf of Cowie Community Council and Cowie Rural Action Group (CRAG).
Clare Stevenson advised Members that this was not an opportunity to object to the Application but to ensure that the community was given some assurance from Taylor
Wimpey with regard to:-
-
the right mix of houses
-
a mix of affordable housing /social housing for rent
-
an agreement of Modern apprenticeship scheme from Taylor Wimpey to local young people
-
cash back to the community - regeneration of Main Street
-
amenities which Taylor Wimpey were proposing
-
access roads/paths
There was still a split opinion within the village regarding the proposed development and further consultation with the public would be required, should the application be approved. It was noted that there was a clear demand for social rented housing but in total, the amount of houses planned was felt to be much higher than the need and if the current application was accepted, the total number, including developments from Cala and Ogilvie would be around 800. Concerns were again raised with regard to the
non-response from NHSFV, as there were a large range of health needs which needed to be met.
Margaret Bain Hughes noted that the village could not cope with additional houses without an upgrade of facilities within NHS provision. It was highlighted that Main Street within Cowie required re-generation and that this development would have a huge impact on the primary schools and healthcare system.
The Chair thanked Clare Stevenson and Margaret Bain Hughes for their presentation. The Panel then proceeded to consider the application.
Decision
The Panel agreed to refuse the application for the reason that the proposal is contrary to Policy 3.3 (d) of the Stirling Council Local Plan 2014, as re-enforced by the Proposed Plan 2016, since this development will not provide a fair and reasonable contribution which is necessary and proportionate to the scale and nature of the development with regard to contributions to school capacities.
(Reference: Report by Senior Manager – Infrastructure (Localities & Infrastructure) dated 14 June 2017, submitted).
PL005 RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF UP TO 67 DWELLINGS, EMPLOYMENT LAND, LANDSCAPING, NATURE PARK AND DRAINAGE AT LAND REAR OFGREEN, MAIN STREET, COWIE – OMNIVALE LTD - 14/00652/PPP-
HEARING
A report by the Senior Manager, Infrastructure, advised of an application from
Omnivale Limited, who were seeking planning permission in principle for residential development on a site on the western edge of Cowie. A planning permission in principle application meant that details of housing types etc were confirmed in future application(s). The application was brought to Planning & Regulation Panel as it was a Major planning application under the terms of The Town and Country Planning (Hierarchy of Developments) (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
The application was initially brought before Members at the Planning & Regulation Panel Meeting on 13 April 2017, where the decision was taken to defer the item to allow for a site visit and Hearing to take place. The site visit took place this morning, prior to the Planning and Regulation Meeting.
The Officer recommendation was to refuse the application for the reasons set out in the report.
The Senior Planning Officer informed the Panel that, given that the issues in this application were the same as Taylor Wimpey, Omnivale had not sought to challenge Stirling Council regarding the education deficit calculation but relied on negotiations between Taylor Wimpey and Stirling Council with this matter.
The Vice Chair questioned whether there was the need to discuss this application at length, given that both applications were closely linked. It was agreed that it would be appropriate to hold a discussion around the matters to ensure due consideration was given to the application.
In response to a question from a Member regarding the education contribution
proposed by Omnivale, the Senior Planning Officer replied that she was unsure as the applicant had put the education contribution of £615k, whereas the Council were seeking a contribution of £423, which was a reduction of £192k. It was agreed that clarification regarding this matter could be provided by the agent for the applicant.
Agent for the Applicant
Beverley Batty, Omnivale addressed the Panel and informed them that Omnivale had the same concerns as Taylor Wimpey with regard to the education contribution being sought and that the original figure was around 67 residential units at a cost of £475k.
Omnivale supported Taylor Wimpey on their analysis of the education contribution based on outdated information. Omnivale would be offering a contribution around £75k. If Stirling Council were agreeable to reduce the contribution, Omnivale would seek it out. Omnivale would apply the same products based on Taylor Wimpey, with a mix of 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom houses.
Beverley Batty responded to further questions from the Panel.
The Chair thanked Beverly Batty for her presentation.
Representing the Community
Clare Stevenson and Margaret Bain Hughes spoke to Members on behalf of Cowie Community Council and Cowie Rural Action Group (CRAG).
Clare Stevenson advised the Panel that she would reiterate the same points as the previous application by Taylor Wimpey and expressed concern around the difference between Stirling Council’s contribution figure and what Omnivale were willing to contribute, along with concern regarding the lack of engagement from NHSFV. She added that any development of houses needed to be of benefit to the village and that some areas required re-generation.
Margaret Bain Hughes added that any new development to the village needed to be of benefit and again highlighted the need for re-generation of the Main Street.
(Reference: Report by Senior Manager – Infrastructure (Localities & Infrastructure) dated 14 June 2017, submitted).
Decision
The Panel agreed to refuse the application for the reason that the proposal is contrary to Policy 3.3 (d) of the Stirling Council Local Plan 2014, as re-enforced by the Proposed Plan 2016, since this development will not provide a fair and reasonable contribution which is necessary and proportionate to the scale and nature of the development with regard to contributions to school capacities.
The Chair declared the Meeting closed at 11.30 am