Agenda and draft minutes

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

Councillor Cecile Irving-Swift declared an interest in application WND/2021/0746 as the applicant lived in the same village but left several years ago.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 9^th February 2022.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Daventry Local Area Planning Committee of 9^th February 2022 be approved and signed as a correct record.

To receive communications from the Chair.

The Chair welcomed Surinder Aktar, the Council’s Planning solicitor for the meeting.

The Chair advised that application DA/2021/0717 Boughton had been deferred with the consent of the applicant.

WND/2021/0746 – Brixworth – Outline application for mixed use development comprising commercial, business and service uses within class E; mixed use restaurant and takeaway use (sui generis); pub/drinking establishment (sui generis); hot food takeaway (sui generis) (revised scheme)– Land north of Cricket Ground, Northampton Road

The Development Management Manager (Daventry) outlined the application and referred to the previous refusal on site. The submission had been revised and the amendments were outlined. The development was considered to be unsustainable and located in a sensitive landscape area. As such it was considered that the development would urbanise an important open space. The proposed access was from the existing road into the complex which had taken on a more rural appearance over the years and it would be adjacent to Merry Tom Lane which was a rural track and retained that rural character which would be lost by the proximity of urbanising development in the form of several buildings and associated works that would be visible therefrom. The application should be refused for the same reasons as the previous application.

Mr Ozier spoke against the application, which was contrary to policy and would harm the character of the area. The development would harm important views as identified in the Neighbourhood Plan. The proposal was for an urban type of development in a rural location and should be refused.

The Chair advised that the local member, Councillor Jonathan Harris was not able to attend the meeting and had provided a written representation which was read out to the Committee. Councillor Harris considered that the recommendation to refuse the application should be upheld. Nothing fundamentally had changed from the previous application which had been refused. The application was speculative in nature. The site lay in the open countryside on the periphery of the village and would be unsustainable. Objections had been received from numerous consultees including Highways, the Parish Council and the Crime Prevention Officer. Councillor Harris supported officers’ recommendation to refuse the application.

Councillor Cecile Irving-Swift proposed that Officers’ advice to refuse the application be accepted. The proposition was seconded by Councillor Alan Chantler.

The Chair was also a ward member and noted that the proposal was against nineteen different policies in four separate documents including the National Planning Policy Framework and the Joint Core Strategy.

The proposition to refuse the application as per Officers advice was put to the meeting and declared carried unanimously.

RESOLVED:

That the application be refused for the reasons as set out in the report.

The Chairman to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

None advised.