Planning Committee

RESOLVED – That Agenda Item 4d – “Application No: P/2023 /0738 – Gamford Housing, Gamford Lane, Rossett, Wrexham” be brought forward for consideration at this time.

The Vice Chair welcomed Neil Culkin to the meeting who spoke in favour of the application. He also welcomed Councillor Hugh Jones (Local Member) who spoke in relation to the application in his capacity as local member and advised members that he recognised the policies that the recommendation had been made on and also stated that he believed that there were broader sufficient policies that could lead to the application being granted. He informed committee that the Community Council supported the application. Councillor Ross Shepherd (Joint Local Member) also expressed his support for the application and proposed a site visit. The Head of Service, Development Management advised Members that the proposed application was for the demolition of the existing buildings and the erection of 10 new dwellings. He also advised that the application was being considered under the LDP, the site was outside of a defined settlement limit, that new build dwellings in the open country side should be strictly controlled and were not supported by Planning Policy Wales. Whilst recognising that the design was high quality, that did not tip the balance in favour of the development as zero carbon homes do not outweigh the conflicts with other policy. The Head of Service, Development Management advised Members that if they resolved to grant planning permission, the Welsh Government would have not be notified and would have a 21 day period to decide whether to call the application in. The proposal for a site visit was seconded and put to the vote. The vote was lost. RESOLVED – Members voted not to support the Officer recommendation to refuse planning permission. Instead they voted that Welsh Government be notified that the Council were minded to grant the application.

The Head of Development Management introduced the report for the erection of storage and distribution warehouse (Class B8) and formation of new access onto Rackery Lane, Llay The Chair welcomed Councillor Rob Walsh (Non Committee Member/Joint Local Ward Member) who spoke in relation to the application. Whilst expressing his support for the additional facility to the existing site, the Local Member raised a concern relating to the potential increase of vehicles on Rackery Lane during time before the new entrance had become established. The Head of Development Management confirmed that this was an acceptable development and whilst sharing a plan with Members of the Committee, he made the following points: · Whilst this was a large warehouse it was broadly in keeping with buildings in the area and would be well screened. · It reflected the character of the buildings on Llay Industrial Estate · The new secondary dedicated access for cars and cyclists proposed from Rackery Lane would accommodate anticipated increase in vehicle movement. The access would serve all H-Pack staff and visitors arriving by car, whether accessing the new or existing H-Pack buildings. · Potential noise levels associated with traffic would be relatively low. · Visibility on the proposed access was acceptable and the proposed parking arrangements were adequate. There was sufficient parking provided on site to accommodate current demand. · All HGVs accessing or egressing the site (for both new and existing buildings) would continue to do so via Davy Way. Forming additional access would enable a clear separation between HGVs and cars accessing, egressing, or manoeuvring around the site. · A service delivery plan was not thought to be necessary although this had been requested by Highways. · No significant negative ecological impact would arise from the proposals as a result of the development. · Compensatory planting would be made on the site. · In order to comply with Policy RE1 Renewable Energy/Low Carbon Technology – the application was accompanied by a sustainability report which concluded that a photovoltaic array (PV) would be the most feasible method of achieving compliance. A PV array was selected based on circa 120No. 375W panels to achieve a yield of approximately 43,500 kWh per annum. This was considered acceptable in accordance with Policy RE1 and it was recommended that a condition be imposed requiring the implementation of renewable energy scheme. Following a brief discussion, Members were minded to grant the application. RESOLVED – That permission be GRANTED in accordance with the recommendation of the Chief Officer Economy and Planning as set out in COEP/68/23

The Chair, Councillor Marc Jones, declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the next item on the Agenda and withdrew from the Meeting. Councillor I David Bithell, MBE presided over the next item on the Agenda. (Councillor I David Bithell, MBE in the Chair)

(Members’ declarations of personal interests in respect of this item are set out under Minute 82 above) The Vice Chair left the Council Chamber and Councillor I.D. Bithell, MBE (who was nominated to temporarily be the Chair for this application) took his position. The Head of Development Management introduced the report which was for retrospective planning permission to retain white uPVC fascia boards that have been installed on the gable front of the building and in doing so shared photographs of the site from various angles. The Head of Development Management acknowledged that whilst he was empathetic towards the applicant it this was no justification for granting and the works could be undertaken to meet the requirements of the enforcement notice. Whilst the impact the unmet requirements of the Notice were having on the applicants ability to sell the property was noted, this was not a material planning consideration. The applicant’s personal circumstances do not outweigh the harm to the character and appearance of the Conservation Area. He also raised the following points: · Article 4 prevents works such as this from being carried out without the benefit of planning permission · A previous application had been refused due to harm to the conservation area · The retention of the white uPVC boards detracts from the appearance and character of the Conservation Area and is therefore contrary to Policies SP15 and DM1 of the Wrexham Local Development Plan. Councillor Stella Matthews (Local Member) spoke in relation to the application and informed committee that she would not support the recommendation. Councillor Derek Wright (Adjoining Ward Member) expressed his sympathy towards the family and informed members that property had been on the market and the existing enforcement notice on it had impacted on any potential sale. Members voted in favour of a site visit to enable them to assess the impact of the development on the Conservation Area. RESOLVED – That a site visit be undertaken.

Councillor Marc Jones resumed Chair of the Meeting from this point in the proceedings.

The Head of Planning Development Management introduced the report which provided the Committee with updates on the performance of the Council’s Planning Service for reporting period Quarter 3 of the financial year period 2023‐24 and on-going staff resourcing issues. During the reporting period, 58% of all planning applications and 33% of applications for major development were determined within 8 weeks or within an agreed extension of time. During the reporting period one Planning Enforcement Appeal decision was received. The appeal was dismissed. Referring to Section 3 of the report the Head of Planning Development Management informed Members of the following points: · There remained considerable pressure on the Development Management and Enforcement Teams due to on-going vacancies, which had resulted in high caseloads for the existing team members · During the reporting period, two Planning Officer (Development Management) posts and two Enforcement Officer Posts also became vacant. · Appointments had since been made to the two Enforcement Officer posts, and it was noted that the Team was now complete. A discussion ensued and the following points were raised: · A Member raised a query relating to phosphates, particularly in relation to a property in Glyn Ceiriog. · Assurances given that permits were being reviewed and the Officers were working closely with Welsh Water on this issue. · Clarification sought with regards to whether the allocated budget was sufficient enough for Officers to deal with all enforcement cases. · Assurance were given that the Team was adequately staffed at that time and an enforcement plan would be presented to Members. · Acknowledgement that the newly installed system would assist with an improvement in reporting time. · Clarification sought in relation to whether staff in the Planning Department had been asked to complete wellbeing surveys. · Recognition and thanks for the hard work of the existing Team members. RESOLVED – That the information in the report of the Chief Officer Economy and Planning as set out in (COEP/19/24) be NOTED