Seaton Town Council
PLANNING COMMITTEE MINUTES
Monday 4th June 2007
PRESENT:
- Cllr P Burrows (Chairman)
- Mrs P Collins
- M Greenyer
- Miss S O’Connell
IN ATTENDANCE:
Cllr Mrs S Semple
APOLOGIES:
Cllrs J Meakin, J Knight
621/06APOLOGIES
Apologies were accepted and approved
622/06MINUTES
Minutes of the meetings held on 16th and 23rd April were approved and signed by the chairman.
623/06DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest
QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC
Mr Benfield of Marsh Road spoke on application 06/2709/MFUL Pole Arms. He reiterated his earlier concerns about the impact on his and neighbouring properties of the proposed town houses which would result in considerable overlooking and loss of privacy if approved. He referred to the history of this application and in particular the apparent disregard of the developer to comply with the planning system in respect of these houses. He circulated photographs which he said more accurately demonstrated the impact on Marsh Road dwellings, than the photographs that accompanied EDDC Planning Committee papers. He requested Members to forward to members of that Planning Committee, copies of the Clerk’s and Cllr Mrs Jones’s submissions of 16th and 18th April.
Mr Benfield brought to the attention of Members inaccuracies in the measurements on the plans and his concerns that despite the Planning Officer acknowledging that the developer was building contrary to approved siting, he was being allowed the opportunity to submit a further plan to enable approval to be given for a previously refused design. Mr Benfield also referred to his concerns that the development of the Pole Arms hotel raised queries that conservation conditions had not been adhered to.
Mr Samways, son of the owner of 2 Marsh Road, spoke on application 06/2709/MFUL. He said the proposed development was causing great stress to his mother with the prospect of people viewing her conservatory and garden from 7 windows of the first floor of the new dwellings. Her life would become intolerable and he said he could not understand how such a proposal could be considered for approval.
Mr Buskin referred to application 06/2709/MFUL on behalf of the owner of an adjacent cottage and the problem the owner had in moving because of the application not yet being determined.
624/06TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING APPLICATIONS
71/07APOLOGIES
Apologies were accepted and approved.
72/07MINUTES
Minutes of the meeting held on 29th May 2007 were approved and signed by the chairman.
73/07DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Cllr Mrs Semple advised that she was not a member of the committee and would therefore not vote on any matters.
74/07TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING PLANNING APPLICATIONS 06/2709/MFUL
Part demolition and conversion of hotel into 8 flats with 2 ground commercial units, erection of 3 dwellings to rear and provision of car parking for 8 vehicles. Re-submission of previously approved application 05/2158/MFUL The Pole Arms Hotel, Fore Street, Seaton (amended plans)
Town Council unanimously recommend Refusal of this application and refer members of the Planning Committee to their comments of 18th April, i.e. that this Council does not support any applications for this site other than that already approved. Members believe that if the re-siting of the town houses is approved, these plans will result in loss of light and considerable loss of privacy to the residents of neighbouring properties in Marsh Road because the dwellings have not been built in accordance with the plans.
The Town Council would like to draw the attention of the Planning Committee to the inaccurate alignment and incorrect measurements from the north boundary wall which are taken from the reveal of the first window. In fact most measurements are inaccurate. The measurement from the original hotel to the front of the houses shows that the town houses are 2 ft deeper than should be.
These dwellings, as currently being constructed contrary to approval, will result in them being overbearing and very intimidating to the neighbours in Marsh Road. From photographs forwarded separately it can be seen that the conservatories and gardens are in the direct line of all windows from the town houses which will result in an impossible intrusion into the life of the residents of Marsh Road, particularly numbers 1, 2 and 3
The Town Council is also concerned at the lack of parking provision, access for emergency vehicles and potential increased risk of flooding to Marsh Road properties because the development is 2 metres above the ground level of Marsh Road.
Members request the Committee to respond to the concerns that to approve this application implies that developers can do whatever they like and can flout the planning rules. They ask them to have a further site visit for the benefit of those who may not have viewed the site before, to see for themselves the true extent of loss of privacy to neighbours, to see how the cottages have not been built in accordance with approval and to assess the impact generally if they were to allow these developers to develop a site to a plan that has previously been refused.
Finally, the Town Council would like to draw the attention of new members of the Planning Committee to the history of applications on this site and the many amendments submitted over a long period. They also believe that the photos that accompany their committee papers do not accurately reflect the impact of these dwellings on the properties in Marsh Road, and ask them to please refer to the photograph forwarded separately which more clearly shows the extent of loss of privacy to Marsh Road residents if this development is approved.
The meeting closed at 6.50 pm having commenced at 6.30pm
Archived Copies of Minutes
Copies of all Minutes of all the Council's meetings are held in the Council Office and copies are sent to Seaton Library once they have been signed by the chairman as a true record of proceedings at the subsequent meeting.