This item proposed a development of 93 dwellings consisting of apartments, terraced, semi-detached and detached houses with amenity space and access roads. The access into the site would be via an extension to Manor Road, with the internal road running through the site in a North to South direction.  A cycle and footway had been created outside of the site and is part of a wider connectivity plan linking Grays with Tilbury and the site includes part of that link on the plans. The site is currently in a natural state.

To the North West side of the site is a scrap metal warehouse and the majority of the site is currently allocated on employment land on the LDP Proposal’s Map. Since its allocation as employment land in the LDP there have been no recent planning applications received for using the land for employment purposes.

The item was recommended for refusal on the design and layout reasons as stated in the report and the Principal Planner explained this further during the presentation of the item to the committee.

The Chair opened the Committee to questions on the Planning application.

Councillor Rice was concerned that the application was initially validated in July 2015 but three years later the application still had not been determined.

Councillor Rice felt the applicant had not received the attention from the planning department and found it unacceptable that it had taken 3 years for the item to be presented at the Planning Committee. Councillor Rice informed the Committee that there were other applications in the system which were more than 9 months old and felt that there should be a task force in place to investigate the planning department.

During his address, Councillor Rice referred to e-mails and meeting requests from the applicant which had been allegedly ignored by the Planning Team.

Councillor Rice asked who was in charge of the Planning application, the Officers or the Design consultant. He raised concern in relation to housing delivery and informed the Committee that the Council was expected to deliver 32,000 homes in the next 20 years.  

Councillor Rice wanted clarity on how things would improve and, if the department is lacking resources then it would need to be addressed at Cabinet.

The Assistant Director - Planning, Transport and Public Protection informed the Committee that all applications are brought forward for determination when they are ready. The Assistant Director reminded Members that the Planning team were one of the highest performing local authorities in the country in terms of the speed of decision making and high quality design is of paramount importance. The Assistant Director advised the Committee that sub-standard design should not be accepted; poor quality housing leads to poor perceptions of Thurrock. The Assistant Director advised the Committee that more homes had been built in Thurrock in the last year than 11 years previous, indicating a growing confidence in Thurrock.

The Assistant Director assured the Committee that accusations relating to the performance of the team would be looked into and a response provided to the Chair.

Councillor Piccolo considered Councillor Rice’s comments and advised the Committee that applicants have a right to appeal if a decision is not made on an application within the statutory determination period and suggested that the applicant has a role to play in the delays. 

Councillor Rice wanted clarity on how things will improve and, if the department is lacking resources then it would need to be addressed at Cabinet.

Councillor Rice proposed the item be deferred and a Task Force to be put in place to investigate the Planning Department.

Councillor Sheridan disagreed and requested for debate as she felt the proposal was positive and the homes would be excellent for residents in Thurrock. A number of residents continue to struggle for housing in Thurrock and this proposal would be positive for the residents.

The Principal Planner explained that the proposed dwellings properties would have mixture of modern and traditional designs with a large variety of house types. The Principal Planner highlighted that in comparison this application is very different to modern simple selection house types used for the Arisdale Avenue application approved at June’s Committee meeting, which showed a simple modern, high quality design approach in place making terms. 

Councillor Rice recommended the item be taken back to the applicant and resolved with the officers as it had been over 3 years and it urgently needed to be addressed.

Mr Taylor asked whether the properties would be affordable homes. The Principal Planner advised the application is subject to a viability assessment and currently there are 19 units in the development which would be affordable housing.

The Chair observed that the quality of the road currently beyond the end of Manor Road did not look appropriate to build near as it was unmade. The Principal Planner confirmed the road surface would be upgraded to provide a smooth surface into Manor Road.

The Chair highlighted at Cabinet on 11 July there was a discussion around a secondary school being built. The Principal Planner acknowledged that the announcement had been in the local newspaper however the current application had to be considered on its own merits as there was no live application for a school in this location.  

The Objector Dr Carmel Lawless was invited to present her statement.

The Applicant Mr Ashley Bean was invited to present his statement.

The Chair asked if the houses would be affected by flood risk, it was confirmed on page 82 point 6.3 of the report the properties will not be built in a flood zone and there were no objections from consulters in regard to flooding.

Councillor Sheridan asked what the impacts the scrap yard would have on the properties if they later decide to expand their site. The Principal Planner   advised there had been no applications put forward for re-development of the scrap yard site and this matter would have to be considered at the time of any application being made in the future. 

Councillor Shinnick inquired whether there would be adequate facilities for schools in the area. It was explained that an s.106 agreement could secure financial contributions to mitigate the impact of the development upon education facilities in the local area.  

The Chair opened the Committee to debate.

The Chair did not agree with Councillor Rice in regards to the accusations made against the planning service and did not consider there to be grounds to have a task force to investigate. The Chair advised however that he would be happy to agree with a deferral or a recommendation if it was proposed.

Councillor Rice noted there had been no objections from any of the services such as Anglia Water, Essex County and Emergency services. Councillor Rice suggested the item should be deferred to focus upon the design objections.

The Assistant Director asked whether, in deferring the item, Councillor Rice would like to see the item presented to a CABE Design Review to help improve the design of the scheme. Councillor Rice confirmed that this was the case.

Councillor Sheridan asked if this item could be voted on as she did not agree with the proposed recommendation. She felt the houses should be built for the residents and it would be positive to have affordable homes which would reduce homelessness in Thurrock.

Mr Taylor said it would be interesting to explore the amount of properties which were to be agreed but had not yet been built in the Borough.

It was proposed by Councillor Rice and seconded by Councillor Shinnick that the application be deferred to allow the applicant time to resolve the design issues by taking the scheme through a CABE design review and working with officers. The item would be brought back to a future meeting of the Planning Committee.

For (6): Councillors T Kelly, S Liddiard, A Jefferies, T Piccolo, G Rice, S Shinnick. 

Against: (2) Councillors S Sammons and A Sheridan

Abstain: (0)

RESOLVED:

That the application be deferred to allow the applicant time to resolve the design issues by taking the scheme through a CABE design review and working with officers.