Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor S. J. Baxter.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

Councillor A. Bailes declared an Other Disclosable interest in relation to Agenda Item Number 6 (Minute No. 55//25) – 25/00901/S73 - Land at Whitford Road, Bromsgrove, in that he had represented residents at the public inquiry and appeal. Councillor A. Bailes left the meeting room for the duration of this agenda item and took no part in the Committee’s consideration nor voting on this matter.

Councillor A. Bailes, also declared a personal interest with regard to Agenda Item Number 7 (Minute No. 57//25) – 25/01151/PIP – Land off Withybed Lane, Alvechurch, in that his spouse, Councillor R. Bailes would be speaking as Ward Member on this application; under the Council’s Public Speaking Rules.  Councillor A. Bailes stated that it would not cloud any of his decisions and would consider the application objectively. Councillor A. Bailes stayed in the meeting room for the duration of this agenda item and took part in the Committee’s consideration and voting on this matter.

Councillor J. Clarke declared an Other Disclosable interest in relation to Agenda Item Number 6 (Minute No. 55//25) – 25/00901/S73 - Land at Whitford Road, Bromsgrove. Councillor J. Clarke left the meeting room for the duration of this agenda item and took no part in the Committee’s consideration nor voting on this matter.

Councillor J. Robinson declared an Other Disclosable interest in relation to Agenda Item Number 6 (Minute No. 55//25) – 25/00901/S73 - Land at Whitford Road, Bromsgrove, in that he had previously made public comments on this application. Councillor J. Robinson left the meeting room for the duration of this agenda item and took no part in the Committee’s consideration nor voting on this matter.

The minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 9^th October 2025 were submitted for Members’ consideration.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 9^th October 2025, be approved as a true and accurate record.

The Chairman announced that a Committee Update had been circulated to Members prior to the meeting commencing, with a paper copy also made available to Members at the meeting.

Members indicated that they had had sufficient time to read the contents of the Committee Update and were happy to proceed.

At this stage in the meeting, Councillors A. Bailes, J. Clarke and J. Robinson left the meeting room.

Officers presented the report and in doing so highlighted that the application was for the variation of Condition 25 of planning permission 24/00516/S73 granted in December 2024, as follows:-

FROM: No part of the development shall be occupied until the junction of Fox Lane/ Rock Hill has been altered in accordance with the scheme for a roundabout shown on the plan Fox Lane/ Rock Hill schematic ref 7033-SK-005 revision F.

TO: No part of the development shall be occupied other than No more than 49 dwellings (of which, no more than 30 shall be for private sale and no more than 19 shall be for affordable housing) until the junction of Fox Lane/ Rock Hill has been altered in accordance with the temporary scheme shown on the plan WSP Drawing 7033-WSP-HGN-00-SK-C-0022-V2 Rev P02. Thereafter, no part of the development shall be occupied other than no more than 365 dwellings (of which, no more than 219 shall be for private sale and no more than 146 shall be for affordable housing) until the junction of Fox Lane/Rock Hill has been altered in accordance with the scheme for a roundabout shown on the plan Fox Lane/Rock Hill schematic scheme ref 7033- SK-005 revision G and ancillary drawings 7033-s278-701 rev C02, 2015804 AGE- ZZ[1]XX-DR-X-0002, 0003, 0004, 0005, 0006 REV C02.

Officers drew Members’ attention to the presentation slides, as detailed on pages 61 to 67 of the main agenda pack.

Officers highlighted that the proposal before Members tonight did not remove the need for the proposed original roundabout. The roundabout was still proposed as part of the amended condition.

Officers referred to page 3 of the Committee Update which detailed additional comments from The Bromsgrove Society and the responses from the applicant, Worcestershire County Council (WCC), Highways and the Planning Assessment and Conclusion.

A copy of the Committee Update was provided to Members and published on the Council’s website prior to the commencement of the meeting.

Members were informed that principally, the interim scheme involved widening Fox Lane to create an additional short lane. Each lane would be 3m wide. A pedestrian refuse facility would be provided with dropped kerbs either side of Fox Lane. This had resulted in additional capacity. The technical approvals process had involved a detailed design review of the proposals supported by an independent Road Safety Audit Stage 1 / 2.

Worcestershire County Council (WCC), Highways and Mott McDonald had been consulted, as detailed on pages 36 and 42 of the main agenda pack. WCC Highways had raised no objections.

The current Condition 25 required the roundabout scheme to be in place prior to the occupation of the 50th dwelling. The variation of condition application, before Members, now sought to vary the trigger for the improvement scheme and take a staged approach to enhancing the junction on a temporary basis, then ultimately delivering the roundabout scheme to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55/25

At this stage in the meeting, Councillors A. Bailes, J. Clarke and J. Robinson returned to the meeting room.

Officers presented the report and the presentation slides, as detailed on pages 30 to 34 of the main agenda pack.

Officers explained that the application was for a variation of Condition 2 (approved plans) of application 19/00592/FUL to alter details of the conversion of the administration building.

As detailed in the Officers report, the site formerly comprised of a factory complex largely constructed in the 1920s and 1930s for the Bluebird Toffee company. To the front of the site were the Administration and Welfare buildings which were Grade II listed buildings as well as the wall to the front boundary of the site.

Planning permission and Listed Building Consent had previously been granted for the re-development of the site for residential purposes comprising of the construction of new dwellings and conversion of the Welfare and Administration buildings.

This application specifically related to the works to the Administration building and sought changes to the approved conversion details. The majority of the changes related to internal reconfiguration to the proposed layout of the residential units. The fine details of these works would be dealt with under the associated Listed Building Consent application.

Members were informed that the external changes which were subject to this application related to:-

· The insertion of 4no. doorways in the front elevation of the building,

   associated steps and handrails.

· A brick skin external wall and the details associated with this to the rear

  elevation.

· Changes to the fenestration on the rear elevation of the building.

Officers referred to the ‘Specific works proposed,’ as detailed on pages 24 and 25 of the main agenda pack.

As detailed in the Officers report, the Conservation Officer had raised no objection to the principle of the proposed works in relation to the impact on the listed building; and as such it was considered that the proposal accorded with the historic environment policies and legislation as outlined in the report.

In conclusion Officers stated that all other conditions relating to the previous permission remained valid; and that in order ensure that the development was satisfactory in appearance an additional condition (Condition 3) had been included as follows:-

“Prior to installation on site, samples and trade descriptions of the materials to be used on the rear wall of the Administration Building shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.” 

At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr. C. Montez, the Applicant’s Planning Agent addressed the Committee in support of the application.

Members then considered the application which officers had recommend be granted.

In response to questions from Committee Members, Officers explained that Listed Building Consent application 25/00762/LBC would be considered and determined by Officers.

Members who had attended the Site Visit commented that it was a wonderful building, but sadly in a very bad state of repair; and that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56/25

It was noted that the Application had been brought to the Planning Committee for consideration at the request of Councillor R. Bailes, Ward Councillor.

Officers presented the report and in doing so highlighted that the application was for Permission in Principle (PiP) for up to 9 dwellings at land off Withybed Lane, Alvechurch.

Officers referred to page 4 of the Committee Update which detailed two representatives received raising objections to the scheme. The objections were detailed in the Committee Update.

A copy of the Committee Update was provided to Members and published on the Council’s website prior to the commencement of the meeting.

The site comprised of a field measuring just under 0.5 hectares and was located within the Green Belt. A railway line was situated beyond the site's eastern boundary, and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal formed the sites western boundary. The unclassified road Withybed Lane forms the northern boundary from which vehicular access was proposed.

The site contained a number of fairly modest buildings and relatively low fencing. The site was currently in equine use. The buildings were located in close proximity to the site boundaries adjacent to both the railway line and canal, leaving the majority of the site open and laid to grass. Having regard to the modest scale and location of the existing development, the site had a predominately open and rural character.

Officers explained that the PiP process was an alternative to the traditional outline planning application route and involved two stages:-

Stage 1. Permission in Principle (PiP) Stage - The local planning authority

               assesses the site's suitability based only on three core factors:

· Location

· Land use

· Amount of development (e.g., number of dwellings)

Stage 2: Technical Details Consent (TDC) Stage - The second stage where

     the detailed development proposals are assessed. The new process

     was introduced in June 2018 and was intended to speed up and

     simplify the planning process for small housing developments.

Stage 2 would include all the technical details of the application; appearance, the layout, the landscaping, the detailed access, full architectural plans as well as any additional surveys.

The application itself had received no objections from Worcestershire County Council (WCC), Highways, Worcestershire Regulatory Services and (WRS), Environmental Health concerning contamination and noise. There were no objections from Network Rail or the Canal Trust; and no objections from WCC Archaeology.

Officers referred to the objections received from nearby neighbours and Alvechurch Parish Council, with concerns raised on impact on the Green Belt and the impact on the highway network.

Officers drew Members’ attention to pages 75 and 76, which detailed questions on Green Belt land and Grey Belt.

Members were asked to note the Appeal Decision dated 30^th October 2023 (APP/P1805/W/23/3315385), as detailed on pages 82 to 85 of the main agenda pack, which stated that the site was in a sustainable location.

The application form sets out that the Agent considered the most appropriate exception to consider was 'Grey Belt' under paragraph 155 of the National  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57/25

There was no Urgent Business on this occasion.