To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Hilton, David Evans & David Burbage. 

Apologies were also received from the Director of Planning, Development & Regeneration (Chris Hilton).

To receive any declarations of interest.

The Chairman declared a personal interest in Item 5 (Holyport Conservation Area)  as he owned a property listed in the Conservation Area.

Councillor Derek Wilson declared a personal interest in the agenda as a Member of the Maidenhead Town Partnership and the Partnership of the Rejuvenation of Maidenhead (PRoM). 

Councillor Christine Bateson declared a personal interest in the agenda as a non-voting member on the Partnership of the Rejuvenation of Maidenhead (PRoM). 

It was announced by the Chairman that the meeting was being recorded.

Order of Business

The Chairman explained that Item 6 (West Street Opportunity Area Supplementary Planning Document) would be heard first, followed by Item 8 (Borough Local Plan – Regulation 19 Consultation) and Item 7 (Adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement) onwards as per the agenda.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the order of business as detailed in the agenda be varied.

To comment on the report to be considered by Cabinet on the 28 July 2016.

The Regeneration & Property Service Lead (Mark Shephard) informed Members that the West Street Opportunity Area Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) provided detailed guidance that would influence the strategic use of land and the quality of design within the West Street Opportunity Area.  It was noted that this report recommended that the amended West Street Opportunity Area SPD was adopted and that upon adoption, the SPD would form part of the Council’s Local Development Framework and would be formally considered in the determination of planning applications.

Members were informed that the draft document was recently subject to a six week statutory public consultation and that as part of the consultation, comments were received from several stakeholders.  It was noted that as a result minor amendments had been made to the draft SPD which was set out in the Consultation Statement Report.

The Lead Member for Planning informed the Panel that this was a key document as it would give an investor an overall strategy.

UNANIMOUSLY AGREED: To recommend to Cabinet to agree to adopt the West Street Opportunity Area Supplementary Planning Document.

To comment on the report to be considered by Cabinet on the 28 July 2016.

The Team Leader – Borough Local Plan, Florence Churchill, informed the Panel that the report provided an update on the proposed Pre Submission Publication Draft Borough Local Plan.  It was noted that the report recommended that the Borough Local Plan proceeded to formal consultation under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning(Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2012.  

The Team Leader – Borough Local Plan went onto explain that the report had been published for information only as it did not form any part of the formal consultation process.  It was noted that when the report had been included in the agenda the Golf Course had not been included, a situation which had since changed.  Members were informed to expect the numbers in the document to change significantly by approximately 2000 – 3000 dwellings, therefore improving the Councils position of being able to meet 66% to almost 85% of the Objectively Assessed Need (OAN). 

The  Team Leader – Borough Local Plan thanked Richard Bate for his useful guidance in how to restructure the way in which the document was presented. 

Councillor Beer questioned whether the blank headings in the report, currently marked as ‘to follow’, would be filled in (e.g. local wildlife) before it went before Cabinet.  The Team Leader – Borough Local Plan confirmed that the blanks would be filled in and agreed to send Councillor Beer a link to local wildlife sites.  The Lead Member for Planning informed everyone present that this would also go to Full Cabinet on the 10 August 2016 for full debate.    

Councillor Beer made reference to an email he had sent the Panel, the Panel substitutes, Chris Hilton, Simon Fletcher, Jenifer Jackson and the Clerk today at 14:21 and requested that reference be made to it.   

The Chairman thanked the officers involved in the Borough Local Plan, which was echoed by the Panel.

The Vice-Chair thanked the Chairman for his great involvement and guidance, which was echoed by the Panel.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Panel unanimously agreed to recommend to Cabinet the following:

1.  Endorse the Pre Submission Publication Draft Borough Local Plan (Publication Version) to proceed to public consultation under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning(Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2012 and then submit to the Secretary of State, along with supporting documents for examination in public;

2.  Delegates authority to the Strategic Director of Corporate and Community Services in consultation with the Lead Member for Planning , following receipt of revised population estimates, to amend the level of Objectively Assessed Need (OAN) and make other changes as appropriate to the plan to incorporate the new figure;

3.  Delegates authority to the Strategic Director of Corporate and Community Services in consultation with the Lead Member for Planning to make editorial and formatting amendments to the Pre Submission Publication Draft  Borough Local Plan and accompanying documents to correct errors without altering the meaning of the plan before submission;

4.  Delegates authority to  the Strategic Director of Corporate and Community Services in consultation with the Lead  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To comment on the report to be considered by Cabinet on the 28 July 2016.

The Team Leader – Borough Local Plan, Florence Churchill, informed Members that the report sought the adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement, which was a document setting out how the Council would engage with the public and other stakeholders in the production of planning documents and when making decisions on planning applications.

Members were informed that one of the first questions the Inspector would be asking would be whether the plan had been put together in accordance with the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). 

It was noted that this report would go before Full Council on the 10 August 2016 for endorsement once it had been to Cabinet. 

The Chairman thanked officers for all their hard work on the SCI which the Panel echoed.

UNANIMOUSLY AGREED: To recommend to Cabinet the following:

i. Approve the adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) document for use in consultation on planning matters.

ii.Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Corporate and Community Services in liaison with the Lead Member for Planning to make any future minor amendments.

An update on the receipt and budget commitment of S106 Developer Contributions at year end 15/16.

The Lead Member for Planning informed the Panel that this report provided an update on the receipt and budget commitment of S106 Developer Contributions at year end 15/16. 

Members were referred to pages 13 onwards which tabled the overall picture of the S106 accounts by service, ward and parish.  It was noted that £6.924m had been spent on a variety of projects which equated to 63.8%. 

The Lead Member for Planning thanked the Borough Planning Manager’s team, in particular the Special Projects Officer (Hilary Oliver) for their involvement in S106, which was echoed by the Panel. 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: To note the financial report in Appendix 1.

This report summarises the Planning Manager’s recommendation to approve the amended draft Maidenhead Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal following public consultation for use in planning decisions.

The Panel was informed that the report summarised the Planning Manager’s recommendation to approve the amended draft Maidenhead Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal following public consultation for use in planning decisions. 

The Borough Planning Manager informed Members that this had been to Panel before and had since been out to public consultation for six weeks.  The Panel was informed that the consultation raised concern about the lack of extension of the conservation area boundary to include the Town Hall and the Grade II listed library.   It was noted that these high quality buildings represented the best of civic architecture set within pleasant grounds that provided a clear explanation of the progression of the town in the 20th century.  However, it was not considered appropriate to amend the boundary to include these buildings as they had a different character to that of the High Street and Queen Street.

Councillor Gerry Clark commended officers on an excellent report.

RESOLVED Unanimously; That the Panel considered that the Planning Manager was minded to approve the amended draft Maidenhead Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal following public consultation.

This report summarises the Planning Manager’s recommendation to approve the amended draft Holyport Conservation Area Appraisal and boundary change to include the former Philberds Manor site following public consultation for use in planning decisions.

The Chairman left the meeting due to his link to Holyport and the Vice-Chair took over chairing this item.

The Panel was informed that the report summarised the Planning Manager’s recommendation to approve the amended draft Holyport Conservation Area Appraisal and boundary change to include the former Philberds Manor site following public consultation for use in planning decisions. 

The Borough Planning Manager informed Members that that this had been to Panel before and had since been out to public consultation for six weeks.  The Panel was informed that the main issues raised in relation to the Holyport Conservation Area Appraisal were:

·         Value of Hearne Drive and bungalows along Ascot Road to variety of architecture in the conservation area and to evidence the 20th century phase of development.

·         Traffic was an issue in the conservation area – expected to increase and should be addressed.

·         Character Area 4 makes a significant contribution to the conservation area.

·         Former Philberds Farm (now Cresswell Farm)  should be retained, especially if the moated site was to be included in the conservation area.

·         Only one wooden fence fronting a bungalow in character area 4.

·         Volume of HGV’s had been reduced in the area due to a weight limit restrictions and resident ‘lorry watch’.

·         Hearne Drive had 3 open spaces.

·         Backdrop to Hearne Drive was very large, mature trees.

·         There was damage to granite setts in the village green area.

·         Too much emphasis given to traffic noise in conservation area.

·         Disagreed with all reasons set out for boundary change to include Philberds Manor site.

It was noted that all comments received had been duly considered and where appropriate the appraisal document would reflect the above consultation comments.

Geoff Hayes (resident of Hearne Drive) stated that he believed a serious error in judgement had been made. 

The Lead Member for Neighbourhood Planning, Ascot & The Sunnings and Communications stated that it would be helpful if the roads could be marked on the maps on pages 164 & 165 of the agenda.  The Lead Member for Planning explained that part of the proposal was to enlarge the area (boundary line) to include the ancient moat which meant that the map on page 165 of the agenda was incorrect.  The Borough Planning Manager agreed to update the map and add road names as requested for ease.

Councillor Malcolm Beer requested that this report be deferred in order to allow a site visit to take place but it was agreed that as this was a decision for the Planning Manager to make a site visit was not deemed necessary.  It was suggested that Councillor Beer could, if he so wished, visit the site alone once the updated map was available. 

RESOLVED (Councillors Alexander, Bullock and Clark voted for the motion whilst Councillor Beer abstained); That the Panel considered that the Planning Manager was minded to approve the amended draft Holyport Conservation Area Appraisal including boundary changes following public consultation.

The Chairman re-joined the meeting and resumed his role.

•           Thursday 18 August 2016.

•           Tuesday 18 October 2016.

•           Thursday 17 November 2016.

•           Monday 23 January 2017.

•           Wednesday 19 April 2017.

Members noted the following future meeting dates (7pm start):

·         Tuesday 20 September 2016.

·         Tuesday 18 October 2016.

·         Thursday 17 November 2016.

·         Monday 23 January 2017.

·         Wednesday 19 April 2017.

The Chairman stated that he would be happy to move the August date to a September date if needed, hence the 18 August was changed to the 20 September 2016.