The Head of Planning and Regeneration Services reported the receipt of an addition 58 letters in respect of the application which, in total amounted to 542 letters objecting to the proposals and one letter in support. She also reported that the applicant's agents had been addressing issues relating to the submission of a planning obligation by agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for monetary contributions in respect of affordable housing, transport and highway considerations.
At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr. M. Jones addressed the Committee on behalf of the Stoke Prior Residents' Association and spoke in opposition to the proposed development whilst Mr. H. Richards spoke in support of the proposals on behalf of Bromsgrove District Housing Trust. On behalf of Stoke Parish Council, Mr. P. Thomas also addressed the Committee and expressed the parish council's views on the application.
Consideration was then given to the application which had been recommended for refusal by the Head of Planning and Regeneration Services. Members initially considered whether the site could be considered as a 'rural exception site' to allow for the development of affordable housing under policy S16 of the Bromsgrove District Local Plan. Following the preliminary discussions, the Committee decided that it was not a rural exception site.
The Committee then examined the various issues arising from the proposals, as detailed in the report with particular reference as to whether the proposals amounted to inappropriate development within the Green Belt and whether the 'very special circumstances' put forward by the applicant to overcome the presumption against development in the Green Belt.
Therefore, having regard to this, and the material considerations and other issues referred to in the report, it was
RESOLVED that permission be refused for the reasons set out on pages 48 and 49 of the report.