Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M. Marshall (Chairman), J. Clarke and H. J. Jones.

Councillor S. A. Robinson was in attendance as the substitute Member for Councillor J. Clarke and Councillor S. T. Nock was in attendance as the substitute Member for Councillor H. J. Jones.

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 regard to Agenda Item No. 5 – Planning Application 26/00446/PIP, Land at Dagnell End Road, Redditch. In that as the Ward Councillor for Alvechurch South, he had called the application in to be considered by the Committee, and as such was predetermined. Councillor A. Bailes retired to the public gallery, and after speaking as Ward Member immediately left the meeting room for the remainder of this agenda item and took no part in the Committee’s consideration nor voting on this matter.

Councillor A. Bailes declared a Personal Non- Pecuniary Interest in regard to Agenda Item No. 7 – Planning Application 26/00610/PIP, Land south of Callow Hill, Alvechurch, in that his spouse Councillor R. Bailes had called the application in to be considered by the Committee. He highlighted that he had not formed an opinion in relation to the application and would approach the matter with an open mind.

The minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 4^th June 2026 were received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 4^th June 2026 be approved as a correct 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.

As detailed in the preamble above, Councillor A. Bailes retired to the public gallery.

It was being reported to the Planning Committee for consideration at the request of Councillor A. Bailes, Ward Councillor, in accordance with the Council’s constitution.

Further information was included in the Committee Update, which detailed an objection from Alvechurch Parish Council. The representations from the Parish Council outlined that the land should be considered as green belt and agricultural in nature, and therefore inappropriate to be considered for development.

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

Officers presented the report, and in doing so highlighted that the application was for planning in principle (PIP) for up to five dwellings, and that the site was currently an open parcel of land (a paddock).

It was outlined that the application was for PIP, which was a specific planning consent route designed for small- scale housing based developments. As such, the Council could only assess the site’s suitability on three factors, namely location, land use and amount of development.

Officers presented the presentation slides, as detailed on pages 27- 31 of the main agenda pack, which included a site location plan.

The attention of Members was drawn to the conclusion of green belt matters on page 25 of the main agenda pack. Officers had concluded that whilst the site was situated within the green belt, due to its proximity to a large built up urban area (Redditch) and other considerations as detailed in the report, the site itself was classified as grey belt.

No objections from members of the public had been received.

Worcestershire County Council as the highways authority and North Worcestershire Water Management had not objected to the application at PIP stage.

The proposal would support continued housing delivery in the District.

Further information, including relevant planning history, the Bromsgrove District Plan, the Alvechurch Neighbourhood Plan, housing availability considerations and the need to demonstrate a five- year housing land supply was relayed to the Committee.

It was noted that the application for PIP was recommended to be granted. It was further noted that the application could not be subject to conditions and that if granted, a further application for Technical Details Consent (TDC) must be submitted and approved, before any development could commence.

At the invitation of the Chairman, the Democratic Services Officer read out a statement in opposition to the application, which had been submitted by the Chairman of Alvechurch Parish Council, Councillor M. Worrall. Councillor A. Bailes also addressed the Committee in his capacity as Ward Councillor, in opposition to the application. Having addressed the Committee, Councillor A. Bailes immediately left the room.

Members then debated the application. From the comments and questions by members of the Committee, the following responses were made, and issues highlighted:

• North Worcestershire Water Management (NWWM) had acknowledged that the site was within the catchment of the River Arrow, however had categorised it as Flood Zone 1, which meant there was no significant fluvial flood risk to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14/26

The Chairman advised the Committee that this item had been withdrawn from the agenda at the request of the applicant’s agent.

It was being reported to the Planning Committee for consideration at the request of Councillor R. Bailes, Ward Councillor, in accordance with the Council’s constitution.

It was noted that there was no Committee Update for this item.

Officers presented the report, and in doing so highlighted that the application was for planning in principle (PIP) for up to nine dwellings, and that the site was currently part of an uncultivated agricultural field.

It was outlined that the application was for PIP, which was a specific planning consent route designed for small- scale housing based developments. As such, the Council could only assess the site’s suitability on three factors, namely location, land use and amount of development.

Officers presented the presentation slides, as detailed on pages 71- 74 of the main agenda pack, which included a site location plan and an illustrative plan of the proposed development.

It was noted that officers advised the Committee that the site was in a suitable location.

Eleven objections from members of the public had been received, in relation to the sustainability of the site, the proximity to the canal bridge, the impact upon the landscape and other concerns. Alvechurch Parish Council had also objected to the proposals.

A number of consultees had made advisory comments, including Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) in relation to noise and contaminated land, Worcestershire Archive and Archaeological Service in relation to historic environment and the Conservation Officer in relation to the preservation of the canal.

Worcestershire County Council as the highways authority, North Worcestershire Water Management, the Canals and River Trust and National Rail had not objected to the application at PIP stage.

The proposal would support continued housing delivery in the District.

Further information, including relevant planning history, the Bromsgrove District Plan, the Alvechurch Neighbourhood Plan, housing availability considerations and the need to demonstrate a five- year housing land supply was relayed to the Committee.

It was noted that the application for PIP was recommended to be granted. It was further noted that the application could not be subject to conditions and that if granted, a further application for Technical Details Consent (TDC) must be submitted and approved, before any development could commence.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Sharon Rippington, a local resident addressed the Committee in opposition to the application. In addition, Sian Griffiths, representing RCA Regeneration (the Applicant’s Planning Agent), addressed the Committee in support of the application. Furthermore, Councillor T. Williams, Member of Alvechurch Parish Council addressed the Committee in opposition to the proposals.

Councillor R. Bailes also addressed the Committee in her capacity as Ward Councillor, in opposition to the application. Having addressed the Committee, Councillor R. Bailes then left the room.

Members then debated the application. From the comments and questions by members of the Committee, the following responses were made, and issues highlighted:

• The site was in close proximity to both the canal, the railway and the M42 motorway.
• The Bromsgrove District Landscape and Visual Sensitivity Study outlined that the area which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16/26

The Development Management Manager presented the Planning Performance Report - Quarter One (1^st April 2026- 30^th June 2026) for Members’ consideration.

In doing so it was highlighted that planning performance was based on a one-year rolling assessment period and measured the speed of decision making. The speed of decision making was highlighted on page 75 of the main agenda pack.

Officers explained that the speed of decision making for major applications over the rolling one- year period was 84.6% and 84.4% for non- major applications over the rolling one- year period. The Government required a minimum of 60% of major applications and 70% of non-major applications to be determined in time, or within an agreed extension of time.

In terms of the quality of the decision making, no Local Planning Authority should exceed 10% of decisions being overturned at appeal. Members were asked to note that the data detailed within the report was intentionally nine months behind the date of publication to allow a time lag for appeals in the pipeline to be determined.

Details of appeal decisions received in Quarter One and cost award outcomes relating to recent planning appeals were provided to Members for information.

In response to a question from a Member, the Development Management Manager highlighted that the Planning team were benefiting from additional resources and increased staffing capacity.

RESOLVED that the Planning Performance Report - Quarter Four be noted.