Agenda and minutes

There were apologies from S. Bowyer, P. Draper, R. Gill and Cllr. Henry.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Simon Britton and John Eaton declared interests in Current Development Proposals, Appendix E – c) 32/34 Elms Road.

Councillor Garrity declared a personal interest in the business on the agenda as she was Chair of the Development Control Committee. She agreed to make no prejudicial judgements on any of the items for consideration.

The minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2004 are attached and the Panel is asked to confirm them as a correct record.

Rowan Roenisch pointed out that her name was spelt wrong on the minutes.

RESOLVED:

that, subject to the above amendment, the minutes of the Panel held on 15 March 2006 be confirmed as a correct record.

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

Mr Burrows asked a question at full Council regarding matters raised at the Panel. Attached is the text of the response for information.

Attached to the papers was a response to a question asked at full Council by John Burrows regarding planning applications approved under delegated powers without the Panel having commented on them.

The response was noted by the Panel.

The notes of a meeting held to discuss CAP’s working arrangements are attached. The indicate a way forward for the meeting to develop in view of the current organisational arrangements within the Council.

A meeting was held on 4 April 2006 to discuss the working arrangements of the Panel and its relationship to Development Control. The notes of this meeting were attached to the papers and contained some recommendations about the future working arrangements of the Panel. The new working arrangements were planned in view of the reductions approved as part of the recent city council budget.

As part of the new working arrangements it was intended that more information about the applications would be included on the agenda papers, the meeting would start later to allow for time for viewing plans prior to the meeting, there would be no plans on the powerpoint presentation. It was also intended that the meeting would take on a different style with the discussion being of a more question and answer style format.

A member of the Panel noted the current high level of delegation for planning application approvals, but it was queried whether a report was still compiled for each application. Officers confirmed there was a report for each application.

A member of the Panel agreed that the new arrangements could be trialled, but sought assurance that officers would still be able to guide panel members on the applications. Officers confirmed that they would be able to do this.

A member of the Panel felt that this represented a worrying trend as similar changes were being undertaken to conservation panels in other authorities.

A query was raised about the Panel’s involvement in appeals. Officers explained that if they were involved in an appeal process, then they would inform the Panel of their involvement.

On a related matter it was noted that the appeal for 1 Knighton Park Road, which the panel had commented on had been dismissed.

RESOLVED:

that the Panel trial the proposed new working arrangements.

The Service Director, Environment submits a report on decisions made by the Development Control Committee on planning applications previously considered by the Panel.

The Service Director, Environment submitted a report on decisions made by Leicester City Council on planning applications previously considered by the Conservation Advisory Panel.

It was noted that the report format had been amended to include the views of the Conservation Officers.

RESOLVED:

that the report be received and the decisions taken be noted.

The Service Director, Environment submits a report on planning applications received for consideration by the Panel.

A) 142 CHARLES STREET, 2 CHURCH STREET (SPREAD EAGLE PUB)

Conservation Area Consent 20060499 Planning Application 20052437

Demolition & Redevelopment

The Director said that the application was for the demolition of the Spread Eagle Public House and the adjacent 1950’s building and the redevelopment of the site with a seven storey mixed use comprising retail at ground floor level, offices on the first to fourth floors and restaurant / bar on upper floors and basement level car parking. The application was essentially a resubmission of a previous proposal that was considered at the CAP meeting last July.

The Panel were deeply dismayed at the treatment of the Spread Eagle PH. Enforcement action was supported to restore the building. The Panel reiterated its view that the building, along with the police station maintained the 1930s scale in this part of Charles Street, and provided a nice gateway to Church Street and the Churchyard. The new building was too large, would detract from the setting of the listed police station and did not preserve or enhance the character of the conservation area.

B) 111 – 121 HIGHCROSS STREET

Planning Application 20060517

Demolition and Redevelopment

The Director said that the application was for the demolition of the existing factory building and the redevelopment of the site with a five storey building for 22 flats with basement car parking.

The Panel accepted the principle of demolition of the existing building. It was however felt that the proposed building was badly designed, too high and completely out of scale with the adjacent two storey listed building. It was also considered to be detrimental to the setting of the church and churchyard. The Panel recommended that the maximum height should be set at three storeys with a design that complimented the adjacent listed buildings.

C) 32 – 34 ELMS ROAD

Planning Application 20060554

Demolition and Redevelopment

The Director said that the application was for the demolition of the existing student accommodation and redevelopment of the site with 19 houses.

The Panel accepted the demolition of the existing buildings and were generally happy with the new development. They suggested that the main houses on the Elms Road frontage could be set back to be more in line with existing building lines and their design improved by taking elements of the architectural style of the adjacent buildings including the use of whitewashed stucco.

D) 11 UPPER BROWN STREET

Planning Application 20060510

Change of use from factory to residential, roof extension and external alterations

The Director said that the application was for the change of use of the building to 20 flats, with commercial storage facilities in the ground floor and a roof extension. The Panel had previously considered applications for the redevelopment of the site.

The panel welcomed the retention of the building and had no objection to the roof extension or replacement windows.

E) BELGRAVE GATE / ABBEY PARK ROAD / MEMORY LANE WHARF

Reserved Matters Application 20060589

Siting, design and external appearance of college building, car parking,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

To consider such other business as, in the opinion of the Chair, ought, by reason of special circumstances, to be considered urgently.

Members are asked to inform the Chair and Committee Administrator in advance of the meeting if they have urgent business that they wish to be considered.

Date of Next Meeting

It was noted that the date of the next meeting would by Wednesday 24 May 2006.

Enforcement Issues

A member of the Panel queried what follow up work took place to ensure that planning applications were carried out according to the approved plan. Concerns were noted about certain approvals which hadn’t been carried out properly such as the Liberty statue and the thatched roof house in Evington.

Officers commented that planning officers checked the materials that were being used for any development. Planning Officers also carried out random checks.

Councillor Garrity commented that there was a reliance on the public to report problems and she encouraged people to raise such matters.

John Burrows

John Burrows announced that this was to be his last meeting. The Chair thanked John for all his efforts during his time spent on the Panel and that his contributions would be missed by all members.

John noted that his replacement would be Derek Hollingworth. Derek would have a deputy in this role who would be Jenny Westmoreland.

The meeting closed at 7.10pm.