Planning Committee

The Interim Chief Officer Economy & Planning submitted a report (COEP/05/26) asking Members to determine the listed planning applications.

RESOLVED – That Agenda Items 4c) – Application No: P/2025/0832 – Darland School and Sports Centre, Chester Road, Rossett, Wrexham, LL12 0DL and 4d) – Application No: P/2026/0158 – 18 The Beeches, Wrexham, LL12 7BL be brought forward for consideration at this time.

(Members declarations of interest in relation to this item are set out in Minute 104 above) The Chair welcomed Mr Richard Bennion to the Meeting, who spoke against the application. He then welcomed Mr Gus Williams who spoke in favour of the application. The local Member, Councillor Hugh Jones addressed the Committee, highlighting concerns with regards to indiscriminate parking in residential areas surrounding the site. Focussing on the Planning element, he felt that whilst the revised plan could be supported, reassurance was needed for the residents in relation to concerns regarding swales and drainage into a ditch on Gamford Lane, which was already causing problems. The Chair then read out a statement from Councillor Ross Shepherd, the other local Ward Member. The Officer presented the report and in doing so, displayed plans of the site to assist with his presentation. A discussion ensued and the following points were raised during the debate: · Confirmation that the application was proposing to relocate the water tanks to a different part of the site, away from the rear of the residential properties in Trevalyn Plan, which addressed visual impact concerns. It was also confirmed that boreholes were no longer proposed. · Public Protection Officers didn’t raise any concerns in relation to noise, which would suggest that the pumping arrangements wouldn’t be significantly noise generating, particularly given that they would be moved further away resulting in any noise impact being considerably less. · Officers explained that surface water would continue to discharge to the existing local watercourse, and the inclusion of swales would help ensure that flows would not exceed the capacity of the local drainage network, representing an improvement in surface‑water management. · Acknowledgement that there would be a period of construction, although the type of vehicles accessing the site during this time would be similar to those already using the lane. · Suggestion that an additional condition be added to require a scheme to be implemented for the screening of the storage containers and for containers to be painted a colour to help minimise their visual impact. · Suggestion that a noise impact assessment be requested although it was confirmed that there were controls in place to address any issues if they did arise. A site visit was proposed and seconded and was put to the vote. The vote was lost. A further recommendation was proposed and seconded that the recommendations be agreed with the inclusion of an additional condition that a noise impact assessment be requested. This was put to the vote but was lost. RESOLVED – That the Interim Chief Officer Economy and Planning be given delegated authority to grant planning permission subject to the following: (a) The submission of an amended elevation plan and condition 02 amended to refer to the amended elevation plan, as well as the amended site layout plan previously submitted. (b) An additional condition is added to require a scheme to be implemented for the screening of the storage containers and for containers to be painted a colour to help minimise their visual impact. (c) Consultation with the Community Council, Local Members and adjacent residential properties takes place prior to the decision being made. Condition 7 Within three months of commencement of development, a scheme shall be submitted that provides the following details: (i) Screening for the proposed container storage and relocated containers show on drawing no. WRX-MLD-XX-XX-DR-L-1105 S) Revision P13. (ii) The colour that the containers will be painted. (iii) A timetable for the implementation of items (i) and (ii) above. The scheme shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details. The screening shall be retained for the lifetime of the development. If any part of the screening comprises of soft landscaping measures, any soft landscaping that is thereafter removed or being severely damaged or becoming diseased shall be replaced by soft landscaping of the same species as that originally planted within the next available planting or seeding season. Any containers sited on the land shall be painted and maintained in accordance with the approved colour details. Reason To protect the visual amenities of the area in accordance with policy GDP1 of the Wrexham Unitary Development Plan.

The Chair welcomed Mr Mark Jones-Moore to the Meeting, who spoke against the application. He also welcomed Mr Robert Jones, who spoke in favour of the application. Councillor Corin Jarvis addressed the Committee, and highlighted a number of concerns including parking problems, and issues with flooding in the area. The Officer presented the report and in doing so, displayed plans of the site to assist with his presentation. A discussion ensued and the following points were raised during the debate: · Confirmation that the site was close to, but outside, the flood risk areas identified on NRW’s flood plan. · There was no evidence to suggest that the proposed development would lead to additional surface water flooding or exacerbate existing flood risk. · Recognition that a hard surfaced area could be created on the site without the need for planning permission. · Confirmation that the proposal was well below the threshold set out in the policy and would be the only HMO in the locality. · Members were reminded that at the previous Committee Meeting, the only reason for refusal related to parking matters; the principle of the HMO use had already been accepted. · Reference was made to a recent appeal decision and the Inspector found no evidence to suggest that the presence of a HMO would deter families from living in the surrounding area, and refusing the application on housing mix grounds would be difficult to substantiate. It was further noted that raising a new reason for refusal at this stage, when it had not been cited previously, could appear unreasonable and potentially undermine the Council’s position. A site visit was proposed and seconded but on being put the vote was lost. RESOLVED – That permission be refused Reasons for refusal: (i) There is inadequate provision for off-street parking on site. The development is therefore likely to increase demand for on-street parking in the vicinity of the site to the detriment of highway safety. The development therefore conflicts with policies GDP1 and T8 of the Wrexham Unitary Development Plan. (ii) The proposed additional hard surfaced area would increase the risk of surface water flooding, to due to existing risk of surface water flooding in the immediate vicinity of the site as shown on Flood Map for Planning. The development therefore conflicts with policy GDP1 (i) of the Wrexham Unitary Development Plan.

(Members declarations of interest in relation to this item are set out in Minute 104 above) The Officer presented the report and in doing so, displayed plans of the site to assist with his presentation. Councillor Terry Evans, the adjoining Ward Member, addressed the Committee and raised a number of concerns. The Chair then invited the local Ward Member Councillor Frank Hemmings to speak. A discussion ensued and the following points were raised during the debate: · Concerns raised by the adjoining Ward Member about the installation of the underground cable linking the proposed substation to the network, particularly the traffic disruption it could cause for residents, local businesses, agricultural vehicles and emergency services. · Further concerns related to the positioning of the proposed roundabout off the B5070 being too close to the A5 roundabout, which was heavily used by traffic travelling to North Wales. · Explanation by the local Member that although he supported the application, he would prefer the inclusion of noise mitigation measures for the benefit of nearby residents. · Suggestion that a traffic management plan should be implemented. · Recognition that the introduction of a new access road would be a big improvement which Members welcomed. RESOLVED - That permission be granted, subject to the following: Condition 01 amended as follows: The development hereby permitted shall be commenced before the expiry of three years from the date of this permission. Further added to require a scheme of noise mitigation: Condition 29 No phase shall be brought into beneficial use until a scheme of noise mitigation has been implemented within that phase in accordance with a scheme of details that shall first have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The noise mitigation measures shall thereafter be retained in accordance with the approved details for the lifetime of the development. Reason To protect the amenities of the occupiers of nearby properties in accordance with policy GDP1 of the Wrexham Unitary Development Plan.

(Members declarations of interest in relation to this item are set out in Minute 104 above) The Officer presented the report and in doing so explained that the site was located in open countryside where new residential development was normally restricted, except in cases such as farm worker or rural enterprise dwellings. The following points were highlighted: · The Rural Enterprise Dwelling Appraisal demonstrated a clear functional need for a full‑time worker to live on site to manage livestock, with the applicants’ current home five miles away preventing adequate response to emergencies. · Six years of financial evidence showed the business was profitable with a reasonable prospect of remaining so. Alternative accommodation was explored but were either outside of the affordability of the business or were still too far away from the site. · The proposed dwelling would sit appropriately within the existing agricultural context, be of suitable scale, and would not harm landscape character or neighbouring amenity. RESOLVED – That permission be granted in accordance with the Officer recommendation.

The Interim Chief Officer Economy & Planning submitted a list of delegated decisions for the period 1 March 2026 to 31 March 2026. RESOLVED – That the list of delegated decisions be noted.