Parish Council Meeting Minutes

A Parish Council Meeting was held on Wednesday 25th March 2021 via videoconferencing on the Zoom Platform and commenced at 7.36pm.

The Chairman, Mr. Arthey welcomed the following Parish Cllrs. to the meeting – R Corcoran, M Hainsworth, B Howe, R Howe, and A Sturgeon. In attendance was Mrs V Waples, Clerk and one member of the public.

In accordance with the changes in legislation, it was noted that this meeting was taking place via videoconferencing and that councillors and members of the public were permitted to film, record, photograph or use social media in order to report on the proceedings of the meeting.

Opening

The Chair opened the meeting and thanked all for attending. The Clerk read out the statement on reporting at virtual meetings of the parish council.

Apologies of Absence

There were no apologies of absence submitted.

Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of pecuniary or local non-pecuniary interests for the agenda under discussion. There were no declarations of gifts of hospitality received exceeding £25.
There were no requests for dispensations for the agenda under discussion.

Minutes of Previous Meetings

Council noted that the minutes of the meeting of 10th March 2021 would be submitted for formal approval at the Annual Council Meeting of 6th May 2021.

Public Forum

(maximum 10 minutes)

To receive comments from the public on the agenda as published: there were no members of the public present and the Clerk confirmed that she had not received any comments via email.

Planning Matters

To consider the following planning applications:
- DC/20/05951 – Planning application – change of use and conversion of barn to dwelling. Erection of two storey extension and garage. Installation of new caravan (temporary) and creation of new drive @ Barn at Church Barn Meadow, Church Road
  - Site plan – pictorial evidence of the existing barn and the cartlodge along with extension to the barn. Accessed shown. The question as to what qualified a barn was posed along with evidence that this was in effect a wooden building. It was confirmed that the law relating to barns changed in 2015 whereby there was an allowance for barns to be classed as an agricultural building. Class Q allowed redundant agricultural buildings to be subjected to a change of use. Application that has now come forward is for a conversion of the barn and a dwelling attached to it which in essence is the erection of a three-bed dwelling.
  - Impact on historical setting of nearby items of interest: Church of the conversion of the barn might be negligible but the additional dwelling might be considered to have an impact.
  - Proposed floor plans - the plans for the barn show that it is to be made into living quarters with the extension being the bedrooms and further living areas. Attaching the house to the barn. Double garage to be erected on the Church side.
  - Proposed elevations – proposed windows are quite common with barn conversions. New dwelling is the same height as the barn.
  - Access - new entrance that has been installed is not shown as on the layout. Noted current access that has been built has been raised previously as a serious concern relating to Highway Safety. The Planning Statement states that this access will be closed. The proposed access is more than 15 mtrs. down the road towards Boxford.
  The meeting had the following concerns over the application as submitted:
  - New access – still cannot be regarded as safe. No highways safety in terms of pedestrian ingress and egress etc. The PC should raise concerns over highway safety and should note the comments from SCC Highways Department which stated that it cannot be shown that safe and suitable access is available from the site; that visibility splays may be adjusted if actual vehicle speeds are evidenced; that the site of the access must be a minimum of 15 metres from any junction and that details should be submitted to show how water is to be prevented from being discharged onto the highway. Without further details coming forth SCC Highways will recommend refusal.
  - Proposed new build – is it appropriate, should it be more modest? will it have a heritage impact on St Peters? The meeting agreed that a heritage statement is lacking / or has not yet been submitted. The field itself is called Church Field and is undulating and the Parish Council should expect to have seen submitted a significant investigation into the area as to what archegonial assets may be lost or destroyed or impacted by the proposal.
  - Location – the proposal is outside of the proposed settlement boundary in the emerging Joint Local Plan but is an existing agricultural building – presumption that its conversion would be allowed and supported but that which is proposed is a significant extension along with the garage and would have a significant impact on the setting in which the barn is located.
  - Impact on ecological area – building is special to the village in terms of heritage and bio-diversity. There should be a wider look at the impact on heritage and bio-diversity in terms of fauna and ecology and a comprehensive report on this aspect should also be requested.
  - Archaeology – no report has been submitted on Church Filed which given its location to St Peters might have historical interest of relevance to the village and wider community.
  It was agreed that overall the Parish Council did not object to the principal of the conversion of the barn. It did however have concerns as to the size of the proposed extension as it was felt that the barn should be able to be converted on its own. The Parish Council would accept a more modest extension to enable conversion. It did however raise serious concerns at the ecological impact that would be had on the field (Church Field) and felt that strict controls should be imposed with regards to the ecological aspect of the build as well as the overall development of the site as well as particularly around the pond on the site. It was also felt that that which is being proposed is so extensive that it will have an impact on the setting of the Church. Church Field is one of the most important views across which the Church is viewed when entering the village. The views would be compromised by three buildings given the elevations of the area. As such the Parish Council raises significant concern in heritage terms of the impact of the view of St Peters by the proposal submitted which by virtue of its massing will be detrimental to the public views of St Peters Church. The Parish Council also questions the lack of an archaeological report on the site and requests that prior to any development taking place an assessment be carried out on the site to ascertain whether it might contain items of or be of historical interest.
- DC/21/01531 – Full planning application – erection of 1 No dwelling and alterations to existing access @ land opposite Monks, The Street
  - Proposed Plans denote that this was in essence a chalet bungalow.
  - Block plan – shows the site and the layout and where the dwelling will sit. Sits within the settlement boundary of the emerging Joint Draft Local Plan. Subject to criteria being satisfied, there is a presumption that development will be acceptable within the settlement boundary.
  - Elevations – pitch on Monks roof is different to that on the new build which has a different profile. Will this impact on the setting of Monks? Should the roof line be sympathetic to that of Monks? It was agreed that this was not likely to have a significant impact and that the dwelling would be screened by trees. Overall the following concerns were raised:
    - Access – proposed access is already in existence but is currently mainly used by pedestrians. It was noted that there was an access on either side of the site. Concern at the proximity of the access to the junction and possible issues regarding sight lines. Confirmation was given that the proposed access is to be the existing access subject to highway specifications;
    - Principal of development – acceptable within settlement boundary, identified gap;
    - Impact on the historic setting of Monks. It was agreed that overall the proposal fitted in well and was a modest dwelling which would have no or limited impact on Monks. Neither was it felt that it would have a negative impact on the Village Hall despite its proximity to the Hall;
    - Highways safety over access is a concern and there must be safe entrance and exit for vehicles and pedestrians using the road to the satisfaction of the Highway Authority.
  It was agreed that the PC overall had no objections to the proposal, but it needed to be assured that safe access to and from the site can be obtained in order to protect all users of the highway, aif.

Parish Councillors’ Reports

To receive reports on urgent village issues from Councillors present: there were none raised.

Date of Next Meeting

Annual Council Meeting Thursday 6th May 2021 via Zoom Videoconferencing platform commencing at 7.30pm.

There being no other business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 20.43pm.