Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director of Place, Planning and Growth, (copy enclosed, Members’ Update to be circulated)*.

A Members’ Update was published before the meeting containing additional information on the impact on the character of the area

The Officer presented the report. Following this the agent Nathaniel Green addressed the Committee.

A discussion then ensued between Member’s and Officers’

Councillor E L Stephens then proposed that they approve this application. This was duly seconded.

Upon a vote being taken the proposal to approve was agreed, subject to the conditions detailed in the report.

RESOLVED that this application be APPROVED subject to the following conditions:

1.              The development hereby permitted shall begin not later than three years from the date of this decision.

2.              The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the approved plans stated on the Decision Notice. 

3.              The application site shall not be occupied by any persons other than Gypsies and Travellers as defined in Annex 1 of the Government’s Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (2024). 

4.              No more than one static caravan and Touring caravan, as defined in the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 and the Caravan Sites Act 1968 shall be stationed on the site at any time. 

5.              The static caravan referred to within condition 4 above shall be sited in the positions that are demarked “Proposed Static Caravan” on the approved site plan. Any material change to its position, or replacement by another in a different location, shall only take place in accordance with details that have previously been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. 

6.              No commercial activities shall take place on the land, including the storage of materials. 

7.              All ecological mitigation measures and/or works shall be carried out in accordance with the details contained in the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (Matthew Game, January 2025) as already submitted with the planning application and agreed in principle with the Local Planning Authority prior to determination. This may include the appointment of an appropriately competent person e.g. an Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) to provide on-site ecological expertise during construction. The appointed person shall undertake all activities, and works shall be carried out, in accordance with the approved details. 

8.              No development shall take until a Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy for protected and Priority species has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The content of the Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy shall include the following: Prior to any works above slab level, a Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy for protected, Priority and threatened species, prepared by a suitably qualified ecologist, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. 

The content of the Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy shall include the following: 

a)         purpose and conservation objectives for the proposed enhancement measures; 

b)         detailed designs or product descriptions to achieve stated objectives; 

c)         locations of proposed enhancement measures by appropriate maps and plans (where relevant); 

d)         persons responsible for implementing the enhancement measures; and 

e)         details of initial aftercare and long-term maintenance (where relevant). 

The works shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details shall be retained in that manner thereafter.

9.              Prior to installation of any external lighting, a lighting design scheme for biodiversity shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall identify how lighting impacts will be avoided upon the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the Crouch and Roach Estuaries Special Protection Area (SPA), Ramsar and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and show how and where external lighting will be installed (through the provision of appropriate lighting plans, drawings and technical specifications) so that it can be clearly demonstrated that lighting will not result in impacts upon the statutory designated sites. All external lighting shall be installed in accordance with the specifications and locations set out in the scheme and maintained thereafter in accordance with the scheme. Under no circumstances should any other external lighting be installed without prior consent from the Local Planning Authority. 

10.           No unbound material shall be used in the surface treatment of the vehicular access within six metres of the highway boundary. 

11.           Any contamination that is found during the course of construction of the approved development shall be reported immediately to the Local Planning Authority. Development on the part of the site affected shall be suspended and a risk assessment carried out and submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Where unacceptable risks are found remediation and verification schemes shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for approval in writing. These approved schemes shall be carried out before the development is resumed or continued. Following completion of measures identified in the approved remediation scheme, a verification report demonstrating the effectiveness of the remediation scheme carried out must be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for approval in writing. 

12.           No development works above ground level shall occur until details of the surface water drainage scheme to serve the development shall be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The agreed scheme shall be implemented prior to the first occupation of the development. The scheme shall ensure that for a minimum: 

1.              The development should be able to manage water on site for 1 in 100 year events plus 40% climate change allowance. 

2.              Run-off from a greenfield site for all storm events that have a 100% chance of occurring each year (1 in 1 year event) inclusive of climate change should be no higher than 10/ls and no lower than 1/ls. 

The rate should be restricted to the 1 in 1 greenfield rate or equivalent greenfield rates with long term storage (minimum rate 1l/s) or 50% betterment of existing run off rates on brownfield sites (provided this does not result in a runoff rate less than greenfield) or 50% betterment of existing run off rates on brownfield sites (provided this does not result in a runoff rate less than greenfield).  

13.           No development works above ground level shall occur until details of the foul drainage scheme to serve the development shall be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The agreed scheme shall be implemented prior to the first occupation of the development.