Decision details

Members of the Committee were informed of the announcement by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 6th July 2010 that Regional Spatial Strategies had been revoked with immediate effect and no longer formed part of the development plan.  As a result of this, no consideration of the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy policies referred to in the report was required, but this had no affect on the recommendation of the Head of Planning and Regeneration Services relating to this application.

The Head of Planning and Regeneration Services reported the receipt of the following relating to this application:

§         a Statement of Community Involvement, undertaken by the applicant, outlining the public consultation exercise on the proposals;

§         two further letters of support from St. Catherine's Church, Blackwell, and Bromsgrove Age Concern;

§         a letter from DTA Transport Planning Consultants in respect of parking requirements;

§         the comments of Worcestershire Highways;

§         a Bat Mitigation Survey from the applicants;

§         the comments of Natural England; and

§         additional comments from the Tree Officer;

The Head of Planning and Regeneration Services informed the Committee that, in light of the comments and documentation received, refusal reasons nos. 2 and 4 were to be removed.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr. P. Frampton addressed the Committee and spoke in favour on behalf of the applicant.

Consideration was then given to the application which had been recommended for refusal by the Head of Planning and Regeneration Services.  On the matter being put to the vote, Members considered that:

§         the need for more and specialised accommodation for the elderly;

§         the absence of alternative sites in the urban area to meet the need;

§         the benefits of the established care home at Burcot Grange;

§         the provision of accommodation providing alternative tenure arrangements;

§         the impact upon the existing housing market; and

§         the topography of the site -

constituted very special circumstances to outweigh the harm that would be caused to the openness of the Green Belt, and the purposes of including land within the Green Belt, and any other harm identified in refusal reason no. 1 referred to on page 95 of the report.

Furthermore, the Committee was also of the opinion that the limited overall loss of trees on the site as a result of the proposals, together with the strength of the existing screening to the application site boundary and the ability to require mature replacement trees by a condition which could be attached to planning permission addressed the harm identified in refusal reason no. 3 referred to on page 95 of the report.

Additionally, the proximity of the application site to Burcot and Blackwell, as well as the availability of sustainable forms of transport and access to alternative means of travel, outweighed the harm identified in refusal reason no. 3 referred to on page 95 of the report.

The Head of Planning and Regeneration Services stated that, in the event of the Committee being minded to approve the application, it would be necessary for it to be referred to the Government Office for the West Midlands, pursuant to the requirements of the Town and Country Planning (Green Belt) Direction 2005.

RESOLVED:

(a)       that the application be referred to the Government Office for the West Midlands under the 'departure' procedure; and

(b)       that, in the event that the application is not 'called-in' by the Government Office for the West Midlands, permission be granted subject to any reasonable conditions and notes as considered necessary by the Head of Planning and Regeneration Services.