Agenda item

Item 13: Variation of condition 2 of planning permission 13/02145/FUL (Amended).

Old Sheep Fair, The Long Barn, Bishops Sutton Road, Alresford

Case number: 19/00619/FUL

The Service Lead Built Environment referred Members to the Update Sheet which set out a further objection received on 16 July 2019 from Ian Ellis, Southern Planning Practice, in response to the officer’s Committee report. The main considerations within this letter are set out below:

•           The objection raised concerns with the fact that the application was not re-advertised and that a new public consultation period was not instigated following the submission of the applicant’s retail impact assessment.

•           There were concerns that the summary of objection and support comments within the officer report was inaccurate and that the number of objections had been unfairly represented.

•           It was felt that the outdoor display areas should not be included within the total retail floor space as they were not subject to condition 2 of the 13/02145/FUL.  The objector suggested that the application should be withdrawn until the above points were addressed.

Further, in the section of the Update Sheet headed ‘Consultations’:

The City Council’s Economic Team were consulted on the application and submitted an objection to the proposal.  Following this objection, and following suggestions contained within the economic response, further retail studies had been commissioned by the applicant which demonstrates that there was no evidence which suggests Long Barn is detrimental to the local businesses within New Alresford Town Centre.

It has not been possible to arrange a follow up meeting with the City Council’s Economic Team since the new retail information had been submitted due to staff holidays.  However, the information had been assessed by the officer and the City Council’s Strategic Planning Team and it was considered to overcome the previous economic objection to the application.

During public participation, Ian Ellis (Southern Planning Practice) Simon Evans and Stephen Glaister spoke in objection to the application and Daniel Wiseman (Agent) spoke in support of the application and all answered Members’ questions thereon.

In his statement Mr Evans informed the meeting that he had been asked to make a declaration on behalf of Councillor Griffiths who was unable to make any representation today regarding the Long Barn application.  She owned a property adjacent to Long Barn which created a Disclosable Pecuniary and potentially Prejudicial Interest.

During public participation, Councillor Gordon-Smith spoke on this item as Ward Member.

In summary, Councillor Gordon-Smith raised the points that.

·         He was making representation on behalf of Councillor Power, fellow Ward Member, who could not be in attendance.

·         The application had a large number of objectors and supporters.

·         The Local Plan aimed to protect the countryside, Market towns and rural development and to approve the application would set a precedent and the impact on businesses (in Alresford Town) and would question the validity of the Local Plan.

·         Local Plan Policy MTRA1 referred to appropriate scale and expansion of rural shops - the Long Barn was already too big, situated between properties and was too far from the Town.

·         Local Plan policy MTRA2 concentrated retail in existing settlement boundaries unless it was shown to be needed by the community and be appropriate in scale.

·         Development outside of the settlement boundary had to demonstrate need or aspiration.

·         The effect of hours of operation was increased by the mail order business.

·         Local Plan Policy MTRA4 and the need for selling products such as food, homeware and jewellery in a countryside location when these items were sold in Alresford.

·         Its nature and scale was disproportionate to its setting.

At the conclusion of debate, the Committee agreed to grant permission for the reasons and subject to the conditions and informatives set out in the Report.