Minutes Council Planning Meeting March 15 2024
Minutes of the Special Planning Meeeting held on Friday 15th March 2024 at 7.00pm in the Stoodleigh Parish Hall
Members present -:
Chairman Cllr W Knowles Vice-Chair Cllr J Widdowson Cllr J Mansfield Cllr G Parkman Cllr C Payne Cllr D Wotton
District Cllr R Gilmour
- Apologies – received from Cllr S Davey
- Declarations of Interest – none declared
- The Public – there were 30 members of the public present.
- Planning application 24/285/FULL Erection of 7 workshops (Use Class B) and café to serve development (Use Class E) following demolition of general industrial buildings, Stag & Squire Shadow Ponds
Mr Harris began the meeting with a resume of his plans and ideas for the site. He intends to demolish the existing dilapidated buildings and replace with sustainable, low impact units. The site was primarily purchased for storage as an asset for his antique business.
The Chairman opened with correspondence received from individuals who were either unable or reluctant to attend the meeting. Mr Harris was able to answer the majority.
The planning notice not correctly displayed as of March 8th. This was an oversight.
Concerns about the height of some units. Below the tree line
Why have a café? Refreshment for employees and walkers
Potential fire hazard with timber and steel cladding materials. Improvement on a timber yard and electricity now connected replacing the need for a diesel generator
Disturbance to local wildlife. Very little seen
Tenants would be chosen to avoid noise and hazardous waste etc. It is currently a brown field site. The 21 parking spaces would be adequate without needing a loading bay as the units were for light industrial use. Installation of electric charging points will be considered.
It was then over to the public, 13 members took advantage of the opportunity to express their concerns and make comment, some more than once. Mr Harris did interject from time to time.
The main topics were the likely increase in traffic from the A361 on a narrow road with few passing places. The requirement for 24hour security lighting in a recognised “dark sky” area. Disturbance to wildlife and possible damage to boundary trees. The actual design of the units, showers, cafe and possible privacy issues with the windows. The existing sewage works are already struggling to cope and the plan may exert further pressure, the water table may be affected.
Distirct Cllr Gilmour then explained the grounds for calling the application in at a formal planning meeting and the way bio diversity net gain could be met by proof of compliance or purchasing credits from elsewhere. The application was outside the Mid Devon Local Plan and would take a disproportionate amount of the Policy S2 allocation for commercial commitments up until 31/3/33
Cllr Widdowson expressed doubts about the viability of the project and if there was no rental uptake what would happen to the site. Cllr Mansfield and Cllr Parkman were concerned about the traffic increase and light pollution. Cllr Payne felt the additional traffic would be a problem and a café might attract even more. Cllr Wotton said that that Stoodleigh is a conservation area and felt that there was little demand within the existing community. The revenue of the inn and new shop would be further diluted with a nearby café. Cllr Parkman stated that they had been voted in to represent the parishioners and it was visibly obvious how they felt. The Chairman commented that there was enough problem with vehicles reversing when it was a saw yard.
The council then voted unanimously to object to the proposal