Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor M. Marshall, with Councillor P. M. McDonald in attendance as the substitute Member. Councillor J. Clarke with Councillor R. J. Hunter in attendance as the substitute Member.

Apologies for absence were also received from Councillors A Bailes, R. E. Lambert, J. Robinson and J. D. Stanley.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

There was no Committee Update on this occasion.

Officers presented the report and presentation slides and in doing so highlighted that the application was for the remaining section of the main movement corridor (spine road) and associated infrastructure works and was intended to serve the remaining phases of this development.

Phase I development off the Stourbridge Road had been under construction for some time, whilst Phase 2 being currently off the Kidderminster Road.

Officers highlighted that this application followed the granting of outline planning permission at appeal and the approval of external access arrangements by the Planning Inspectorate.

The Reserved Matters application brought forward the important details for approval which would allow confirmation of the appearance, layout and scale of the spine road link which was key to deliver the overall transport strategy of the site.

Mini roundabouts were shown as well as spurs to serve future residents/commercial phases.

Two sections of Perryfields Road, and a section of Fockbury Mill Lane would ultimately be severed as part of this section of the main route corridor. The stopping up of these roads would enable enhanced quality cycle/pedestrian facilities, ensuring less reliance on the car.

Officers highlighted that the principle of the stopping up of these roads had already been considered at the outline stage and approved in principle and was clearly indicated within the suite of approved plans, namely the Access and Movement Parameters Plan and also conditioned accordingly within the appeal decision (Condition 35).

A through connection between Kidderminster Road and Stourbridge Road would be maintained as part of this development aligning with the approved and conditioned Access and Movement Parameter Plan, as detailed at Figure 3.6 Parameter Plans and Access and Movement slide, on page 21 of the main agenda pack.

From a highway and transportation perspective, this application principally comprised of the spine road connection between the Perryfields Phase 1 residential site, as approved in November 2023 under the Reserved Matters application and the Phase 2 portion of the site by Kidderminster Road, as approved in January 2025.

The section of the spine road relevant to this planning application had been designed in accordance with the principles established as part of the outline approval set by the Planning Inspectorate.

To achieve these established principles a 6.1m wide road had been provided. There was localised widening at the bends along the spine road which was necessary to safely accommodate two-way traffic based on vehicle tracking data. The required 20mph design speed had been achieved through a combination of measures including horizontal alignment, three mini-roundabouts, and a build-out feature on the northern section. A ghost right-turn arrangement had also been provided for the existing school.

There was a combination of 2m footways and a 3.5m wide shared foot/cycleway provided on the spine road through the development site. A signalised crossing was proposed where the active travel corridor switched from the northbound approach to the southbound.

The proposed spine road had been subject to an independent Road Safety Audit (RSA) Stage 1/2 and a designer response produced. The findings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48/25

The Development Management Manager informed Members that the report was for Quarter Two (1^st July 2025 to 30^th September 2025).

It was highlighted that there were no concerns with regard to Decision Making, Quality of Decision Making or Speed of Decision Making.

As requested by the Committee the report also contained a list of  Appeal Decisions. There were no cost award outcomes relating to recent planning appeals to report.

The Chairman took the opportunity to remind the Committee that the report was for noting only.

RESOLVED that the Planning Performance Information report, Quarter 2 – 1^st July 2025 to 30^th September 2025, be noted.

There was no urgent business on this occasion.