MINUTES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT 7.30 PM ON 14 FEBRUARY 2013 AT CANON PYON PARISH HALL
Present: Mr. G.R. Vaughan (Chairman)
Mrs. L. Pugh, Mr D. Spooner, Mr M. Verdin Mr H. Ray and MrN.C. Davies.
In attendance: District Cllr. A. Blackshaw, Mr R. Hewitt, Clerk to the Council.
2013/142 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies were accepted from Mrs C. Barrell, Mrs S. Maxwell, Mrs G. Dickson, Mr A. Drew, Mr R. Doran and Mr H. Patterson.
2013/143 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. No interests were declared during the meeting.
2013/144 AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN FIELD NEXT TO PLAYING FIELDS
The Chairman reported that TwoRivers and the owner of the field next to the playing fields at Canon Pyon had put the planned development of 10 affordable housing units on hold pending the outcome of the planning application for 30 dwellings including 10 affordable units next to Valentine Court, Canon Pyon.
The owner of the site next to the playing fields is considering an application for ‘mixed use’ to include work units, retirement bungalows low cost two bedroom housing and family houses.
2013/145 PLANNING APPLICATION 130166/F SITE ADJACENT TO 4 VALENTINE COURT
The Chairman said that the meeting should be considered as an opportunity to review the plans and consult with the public, and that no decision would be taken on the planning application. The parish council will take a decision and provide comments on the planning application at a public meeting later in February or at the scheduled parish council meeting of Tuesday 5 March 2013.
The Chairman asked the meeting to note that the new National Planning Policy Framework introduced by central government makes a presumption in favour of sustainable development. Unfortunately, Herefordshire Council’s core strategy has not been agreed, and the parish has yet to complete a neighbourhood plan, both of which would need to be taken into account by planning services in deciding on the planning application.
The Chairman reported that there are 25 housing units rented and managed by housing associations in Pyons Group, of which 19 are in Canon Pyon and 6 in Kings Pyon. The planning application proposes to add 10 new affordable housing units, of which five will be rented and five will be intermediate housing.
According to Housing Services at Herefordshire Council, finding local people to rent the five social units should be relatively straightforward given the housing need in the parish.
The meeting reviewed the reasons why the previous planning application for affordable houses on the site next to Valentine Court was denied, namely the layout, density and detailed design of the scheme and the significance of the roadside hedge.
The Chairman and District Cllr. Blackshaw highlighted the importance of the context in which the decision was made to refuse the previous planning application. In making the decision to refuse the earlier application it was felt that Herefordshire Council took note of the emerging localism agenda and the strong support by the community and parish council for affordable housing to be developed on the site next to the playing fields in order to create a centre for the village of Canon Pyon.
The meeting agreed that additional development would support the shop, public house and school at Canon Pyon, and may lead to an improved bus service. In the absence of local employment opportunities, however, the majority of people living in the development would be likely to commute to Hereford. As well as the site next to the playing fields, the brownfield site next to the parish hall at Canon Pyon is earmarked for the development of 12 housing units.
It was agreed that any Section 106 funds from developments in the village needed to be focused on benefiting the local community rather than Herefordshire.
The Chairman invited views and contributions from members of the public present at the meeting.
Mr G. McLeod spoke against the planning application on the grounds that the hedge should remain in situ and undisturbed. The hedge is a rich source of biodiversity and protects people walking along the adjacent footpath from the large vehicles using the busy road, he felt. The footpath is used seven days per week by the public including children, pensioners and a wheelchair user.
Mr McLeod said the reasons why planning applications to develop the site in earlier years had been turned down needed to be respected. The frontage of the proposed development has been moved back just a couple of metres and the original objection remains. The houses are the same height and design and provide no variety of design.
There are too many houses in the proposed development, and no account is taken of the village’s housing need which should include bungalows to cater for the requirements of an aging population. Mr McLeod observed there has been no consultation from the developer, there is no land put aside for a play area for young children, and no mitigation measures to support the wildlife living in the proposed site.
Mrs Santillo spoke against the planning application. She said there are too many houses on a field that floods and the extra load on the sewage system is likely to lead to problems for the whole of the village. Mr McLeod added that the low lie of the land at that end of the village already led to back ups in the sewage system.
Mrs Santillo added that the development may lead to the field opposite being built on as it is owned by the same developer. Also, the amenities in Canon Pyon are limited; there is no dentist or doctor, the bus service ends at 5pm and there are few employers. The petition raised in opposition to the proposed development of 14 affordable houses in 2011 should be listened to by the planning authorities.
Mr Wilson was concerned about the capacity of the sewage system, the architectural theme imposed on the village and lack of variety in the proposed housing. More account should be taken of housing needs for the elderly, he said.
Mr McLeod asked the parish council to promote the field as a natural resource for the community following the outcome of the planning application.
Mr J. Spreckley spoke on behalf of the applicant. He said the proposed development would help Herefordshire meet its housing shortage, and that Canon Pyon was a suitable site as it had good amenities and was regarded as an “RSC in all but name”. Should the parish council have a neighbourhood plan, it would need to accommodate development of 50-100 housing units.
According to Mr Spreckley, the proposed site has been designated for development with low or minor planning constraints, and the issues raised in the plans refused in 2011 have been addressed in the current planning application.
Mr Spreckley said that he did not think the village needed to be concerned about the field opposite the proposed development as it was both outside the settlement boundary and had been rejected as a potential development site by Herefordshire Council.
Mr Spreckley said he wanted to address several concerns raised during the meeting. The capacity of the sewage system will be addressed by Welsh Water, and should it need to be expanded the developer will contribute to the cost. Small developments do not require a play area where there is already an existing facility.
The parish council was urged by Mr Spreckley to work with Herefordshire Council to use the Section 106 funds from the development as locally as possible.
Addressing the number of affordable housing units, Mr Spreckley said these were a result of the housing needs survey and requirement for 35 percent of the units to be affordable housing. Similarly, the hedge needed to be removed to address a requirement from highways, and the hedge would be replaced or translocated.
With regard to the frontage of the proposed development, Mr Spreckley said that this matched the housing line of the village. There was a lengthy pre-application consultation with Herefordshire Council and the planners asked for a strong street frontage in the plans for the development.
In response to a question, Mr Spreckley said the development would take approximately 12 months to build from start to finish.
The Chairman thanked Mr Spreckley for addressing the meeting.
Mr M. Anderson said he felt the proposed plans should site the houses further from the A4110 and stagger the development to soften the line of properties.
The meeting noted the comments made by members of the public. It was resolved to consider planning application 130166/F Site adjacent to 4 Valentine Court, Canon Pyon at a subsequent meeting of the parish council. The Clerk was asked to secure an extension from planning services to the deadline for comments on the plans, and it was agreed to confirm the date for the next meeting in light of the time extension for comments. Tuesday 26 February 2013 was proposed as a potential date for a subsequent extraordinary meeting of the parish council.
The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.45 pm.