An apology for absence was received from Councillor Alison Williams.  Councillor Ektaveen Thandi attended as her substitute.

The minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on Wednesday 1 March 2023 were signed by the Chair.

To declare any interest members may have in the items contained on this agenda.   When declaring an interest a member must state what their interest is.  Any declared interest will fall into one of the following categories:

A Disclosable Pecuniary Interest which has been or should have been declared to the Monitoring Officer, and in respect of which the member must leave the chamber for the whole of the item in question;

An Other Significant Interest under the Code of Conduct and in respect of which the member must leave the chamber for the whole of the item in question unless exercising the right of public speaking extended to the general public;

A voluntary announcement of another interest not falling into the above categories, made for reasons of transparency.

Cllr Metcalf declared that his daughter was previously landlady of the former Battle of Britain Public House.

Resolved that application 20221251 be delegated to the Service Manager (Planning) to grant PERMISSION subject to the applicant agreeing pre-commencement conditions and the finalisation of planning conditions.

The Committee considered application 20221251 – Former Site of Battle of Britain, Coldharbour Road, Northfleet.   The application was for the construction of a care home (within Class C2) associated parking, access, drainage, boundary treatments, landscape, and other associated works.

The Planning Officer outlined key points from the report:

·         The site was located in an urban residential area, on the corner of Coldharbour Road and New House Lane and covered an area of approximately 0.45 hectares.  Shears Green School playing field was located to the northeast of the site with St Clements Close located to the southeast.

·         The proposal would provide 65 single occupancy bedrooms for dementia specific care.

·         It was proposed that the site offer car parking for 27 cars, which would include 2 blue badge holder spaces with additional space for an ambulance.  There would also be a cycle storage provision for 8 bicycles.

·         The development would include a number of onsite facilities for residents to include; a hairdresser, cinema, dining rooms and cafes, family room and lounges.

·         The development would require the removal of some trees with new trees being planted.  This was outlined within the soft landscaping condition of the report.

·         The hard standing would be retained, and this was outlined within the report in condition 21.

·         The proposals would have no detrimental impact on the surrounding landscape, character of the area, amenity, highway safety or parking.

·         The proposed scheme was deemed acceptable in principle and provide much needed residential care for elderly people with dementia.

·         The development was considered to comply with local and national planning policy.

The Committee were invited to ask questions for clarification and raised the following:

·         Clarification was sought regarding height of the proposed building and whether three stories would encroach on the surrounding residential dwellings, dominating the street scene.  The Planning Officer assured the Committee that consideration had been given to the proposed elevation of the building and the prominence of the structure would be mitigated with several factors which were outlined in paragraph 6.35 of the report. The Planning Officer went on to inform Members, that the height of the proposed building was between 1.5 to 2 metres higher than that of the previous structure.  The Service Manager (Planning) explained that the separation distance between the proposed building and surrounding dwellings meant the bulk and massing would not have a detrimental impact upon the townscape.

·         Reference was made to the distance between the proposed position of the building and that of properties opposite the plot.  The Planning Officer clarified that the new structure would be 5 metres from the roadside boundary and 14 metres from New House Lane, so reducing the impact on residents.

·         Members raised concern regarding what would happen if the care home were to cease operation in the future and whether this could lead to the property being used for general residential purposes.  The Service Manager (Planning) advised that if Members were minded to approve the proposal it would be subject to a Class C2 condition, (care  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4a

This item was withdrawn.

To appoint the following Members (including Chair and Vice-Chair) to the Appeals Sub-Committee:-

Cllr Lyn Milner (Chair)

Cllr Jo Hart (Vice Chair)

Cllr Jordan Meade

The Committee considered the wishes of the political groups in relation to the appointment of Members to the Appeals Sub-Committee.

Resolved that an Appeals Sub-Committee be appointed as shown below:

Labour:                                                Conservative:

Cllr Lyn Milner (Chair)                         Cllr Jordan Meade

Cllr Jo Hart (Vice Chair)

To appoint the following Members (including Chair and Vice-Chair) to the Hackney Carriage Sub-Committee:-

Cllr John Burden (Chair)

Cllr Lee Croxton (Vice Chair)

Cllr Jordan Meade

The Committee considered the wishes of the political groups in relation to the appointment of Members of the Hackney Carriage Sub-Committee.

Resolved that a Hackney Carriage Sub-Committee be appointed as shown below:

Labour:                                                Conservative:

Cllr John Burden (Chair)                     Cllr Jordan Meade

Cllr Lee Croxton (Vice Chair)

A copy of the schedule has been placed in the democracy web library and also in the Reception, Civic Centre: -

Document library - Gravesham Borough Council