Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Glenn Andrews, Iain Dobie, Jan Foster, Tony Oliver and Suzanne Williams.

There were none.

The following Councillors attended the site during Planning View:

-       Councillor Frank Allen

-       Councillor Garth Barnes

-       Councillor Barbara Clark

-       Councillor Dr. Steve Steinhardt

-       Councillor Simon Wheeler

There were none.

The DM Manager introduced the report and update report as published. She noted the following correction to the officer’s recommendation in the report, which should read:

“B    completion of a S106 obligation and/or other legal document to deliver the infrastructure and other mitigation, as set out in this Report at paragraphs 7.330-7.331 and for alterations to s106 heads of terms as may be agreed under delegated authority given to the Head of Planning (CBC)/Director of Growth (TBC) in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Planning Committee.”

The officer noted that there was also an error in the Golden Valley SPD checklist, the contents are correct, but it is mislabelled South instead of North.

There were two public speakers on the item: the applicant’s representative, and the ward member.

The applicant’s representative addressed the Committee and made the following points:

-       Director at Savills and the planning advisor to MLPL and Revantage for the outline application.

-       The application is the culmination of seven years work through a comprehensive pre-application process and then the determination period once the application had been submitted. Through close collaborative working with officers, statutory consultees and the neighbouring developers within the West Cheltenham allocation, proposals have been developed which:

o   Will deliver a significant proportion of the new homes anticipated in the Golden Valley supplementary planning document (SPD) through a high quality and sustainable mixed-use development;

o   Will connect to the other land within the allocation and will help facilitate the delivery of the allocation as a whole; and

o   Will provide the majority of the supporting community infrastructure and open space for the allocation, benefiting not only the new residents but the existing residents of the wider communities on the western side of Cheltenham.

-       The application proposals include the provision of up to 1,100 homes.  This will include mix of different house types, sizes and tenures to meet the diverse need for housing.

-       The new homes will meet modern fabric standards for energy efficiency to reduce heating demands. Solar panels will be provided on suitable roof spaces to generate electricity on site. All homes with parking will have electric car charging points, and there will be no gas connection on site - the homes will be heated with air source heat pumps. The new market and affordable homes provided through the development would therefore be modern, energy efficient and consequently have lower running costs for the new residents.

-       Our clients, the other developers within the allocation and council officers have put in a great deal of effort to ensure a collaborative and coordinated approach to the master planning of the allocation. The allocation wide Illustrative Masterplan and Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) will ensure that all of the necessary infrastructure is delivered in the right location regardless of landownership and in a timely fashion. You will be able to see from the IDP that MLPL and Brighton STM are making a significant contribution to the wider infrastructure needs of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

There were none.