Agenda item

The Committee considered the report and the urgent update reports of the Head of Planning and Development.

Mr Barker, an objector, Councillor Aplin of Otham Parish Council (against), Councillor Greenhead of Downswood Parish Council (against), Mr Goodban, for the applicant, and Councillor Newton (Visiting Member) addressed the meeting.

RESOLVED:

1.  That subject to the prior completion of a S106 legal agreement in such terms as the Head of Legal Partnership may advise to secure the following:

·  A financial contribution of £978.34 per dwelling towards the provision of health facilities at one of the following surgeries: Wallis Avenue Surgery, Mote Medical Practice, Northumberland Court, Downswood Surgery, Grove Park Surgery;

·  A financial contribution of £6,460.00 per dwelling towards the construction of Langley Park Primary School and Langley Park Primary School site acquisition;

·  A financial contribution of £272.00 per dwelling towards improvements to existing off-site open space facilities at Senacre Recreation Ground;

·  The provision of 30% affordable housing with a 60/40 tenure split in favour of Affordable Rent including 2 (two) Wheelchair Accessible Homes;

·  The provision of a minimum 5.8 hectares of public open space;

·  A financial contribution of £2,274.84 per dwelling towards the third phase of the expansion of the Cornwallis Academy (secondary education);

·  A financial contribution of £30.70 per dwelling towards the refurbishment required at St Faiths Adult Education Centre in Maidstone to provide additional capacity to meet the needs of the additional attendees (community learning contribution);

·  A financial contribution of £8.49 per dwelling towards additional equipment required to support the additional attendees at the Fusion Café Youth project (youth services contribution);

·  A financial contribution of £48.02 per dwelling towards additional library book stock required to mitigate the impact of the new borrowers from this development;

·  A financial contribution of £53.88 per dwelling towards the cost of providing additional services for this proposed development, namely accessibility improvements to a community building local to the development where social care services are delivered by KCC or a third party (social care contribution);

·  A Landscape and Ecological Management Plan, to include:

Description and evaluation of features to be managed to include the long term maintenance and management of the SUDS schemes located in the buffer zone to the southern boundary;

Aims and objectives of management;

Management prescriptions for achieving aims and objectives;

Preparation of a work schedule (including an annual work plan capable of being rolled forward over a five-year period);

Details of the body or organisation responsible for implementation of the plan;

Details of on-going species and habitat monitoring; and

Provision for remedial measures.

The LEMP shall also include details of the legal and funding mechanism(s) by which the long-term implementation of the plan will be secured by the developer with the management body(ies) responsible for its delivery.

·  Appropriate financial contributions for significant highways and transport improvements to include the following elements that are subject to further negotiations:

A per dwelling contribution towards the A274 Sutton Road/Willington Street/Wallis Avenue junction improvements;

A per dwelling contribution towards bus prioritisation measures from the Willington Street junction to the Wheatsheaf junction; and

A per dwelling contribution for improvements to bus services to/from the site with the prioritisation of high quality bus services serving Headcorn Railway Station, Bearsted Railway Station and the Cornwallis Academy with Real Time Information, Fast Track etc.

Per dwelling contributions to be based on the South East Maidstone Highway Mitigation Apportionment Table attached as Appendix A to the report of the Head of Planning and Development subject to any subsequent amendments negotiated and agreed by the Head of Planning and Development acting under delegated powers.

·  Annual monitoring and reporting of the effect of displaced traffic on highway routes surrounding the site (“rat-running” monitoring);

·  A financial contribution towards suitable mitigation measures to combat any significant adverse traffic flow conditions as may be established by the monitoring exercise to be conducted;

·  The establishment of a “development monitoring committee” prior to the submission of the first reserved matters application to be responsible for the review of all aspects of the development, including design, phasing, quality etc., with such members to include an Officer of the Borough Council, Ward Member(s), representatives of the appropriate Parish Council(s) and a representative of the developers; and

·  A financial contribution towards the setting up and running of this “development monitoring committee”,

the Head of Planning and Development be given delegated powers to grant outline permission subject to the conditions and informatives set out in the report and the additional condition set out in the first urgent update report (relating to air quality) with the deletion of suggested condition 23 limiting the number of dwellings, the amendment of conditions 3, 13, 19 and 31 and an additional informative as follows:

Condition 3 (Landscaping) (amended)

Amend sub-section:

d) The provision of a 15m wide protective buffer zone along the entire southern boundary of the site, adjacent with Bicknor Wood, excluding footways.  The buffer zone shall be fenced off in accordance with BS 5837 2012 before and during construction; and thereafter fenced off in accordance with details to be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority.  The approved fencing shall be maintained thereafter.

Add sub-section:

q) Details of the location of flood attenuation swales and ponds within the 15m buffer zone to the south and such features shall not affect root protection areas.

Condition 13 (Arboricultural Implications Assessment) (amended)

Add to the condition:

The details shall include a constraints plan and how the areas are to be fenced which shall include the use of scaffolding to secure the fencing for the duration of the build.

Condition 19 (Highways and Access) (amended)

Amend sub-section:

e) On-site footways shall be constructed before the dwellings to which they serve are first occupied, including the provision of a PROW to the Bicknor Farm site to the south west.  At no time shall development take place that would preclude these accesses being opened up.  The details of the new PROW shall ensure a naturalistic approach to the surface of the footpath to include limestone chippings or bark surfacing, and not black top, and the footpath shall not be adopted.

Reason:  In the interests of good accessibility and sustainable travel and to ensure acceptable appearance through the site.

Condition 31 (Design Principles Statement) (amended)

Amend the condition to read:

No construction of the development above ground level hereby permitted shall take place until a Design Principles Statement has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The development proposals shall be of a high standard of design and sustainability incorporating the use of vernacular materials taking their cue from the local context.  The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

Additional Informative

The reserved matters must be reported back to the Planning Committee for consideration rather than dealt with under delegated powers.

2.  That the Head of Planning and Development be given delegated powers to negotiate and agree any subsequent amendments to the South East Maidstone Highway Mitigation Apportionment Table.

3.  That the Head of Planning and Development be given delegated powers in consultation with the Head of Legal Partnership to negotiate and agree the precise details of the S106 legal agreement in respect of this application.

Voting:  4 – For  4 – Against  4 – Abstentions

The Chairman used his casting vote in favour of approval.

Councillor Harwood left the meeting after consideration of this application (21.55 p.m.).