Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance (copy enclosed, Members’ Update to be circulated)*.

Following the Officer’s presentation, Mr Peter Le Grys, the Agent, addressed the Committee.

Councillor J V Keyes declared a non-pecuniary interest in this item as he was a Member of Great Totham Parish Council and informed the Committee that another Member of the Parish Council residing opposite the site.

Councillor E L Bamford informed the Committees that the land was not currently in use and no horses were housed in the stables which had been standing for eighteen months.  Further concern was raised over the amount of hardstanding and disputed that the application was in keeping with the Local Development Plan (LDP), specifically policies D1, S2 and S8.  Councillor E L Bamford put forward a proposal for refusing the application, contrary to the Officer’s recommendations, for the aforementioned reasons.  This was duly seconded.

A brief discussion ensued with Member’s commenting on the site being located outside of the village and whether this was the first development to occur on that part of the road.  It was acknowledged that the site was outside of the District’s settlement boundaries and that this was not unusual for stable developments.

The Chairman put the recommendation of refusal, contrary to the Officer’s recommendation, to the Committee and upon a vote being taken the proposal was rejected.

The Chairman then put the Officer’s recommendation of approval to the Committee, subject to the variation of Condition 2 to remove “equestrian buildings and” from the last line, and upon a vote being taken the recommendation was agreed.

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

1.               The stables hereby permitted shall be used solely for the private stabling of horses shall not be used for business or commercial use including for the purposes of livery and no riding school activity shall take place at the site.

2.               The use of the stables hereby permitted shall cease and all equipment and materials brought onto the land for the purposes of such use shall be removed within three months of the date of failure to meet any one of the requirements set out in (i) to (iv) below.

(i)          within 3 months of the date of this decision details of the arrangements for the storage, drainage and disposal of manure, bedding and liquid animal wastes shall have been submitted for the written approval of the local planning authority and the scheme shall include a timetable for its implementation;

(ii)        if within 11 months of the date of this decision the local planning authority refuse to approve the scheme or fail to give a decision within the prescribed period, an appeal shall have been made to, and accepted as validly made by the Secretary of State;

(iii)      if an appeal is made in pursuance of (ii) above, that appeal shall have been finally determined and the submitted scheme shall have been approved by the Secretary of State, or;

(iv)       the approved scheme shall have been carried out and completed in accordance with the approved timetable.

3.               There shall be no burning of animal or stable waste anywhere on the site as shown edged in red on the Location Plan hereby approved.

4.               No floodlighting or other external form of illumination of the site shall be undertaken without the prior written approval of the local planning authority.