Minutes of a meeting of the Planning and Licensing Committee held 18th July 2022

PL22/032 PRESENT

Councillors McCulloch, Dalzell, Houghton, Lowe, and Robertson.

B Allen (Planning and Facilities Officer)

PL22/033 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Cllrs Gray, Morris, and Nicholson (personal business).

PL22/034 DECLARATIONS OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS

There were no declarations of interest.

PL22/035 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

A representative of a stakeholder group spoke in relation to 22/0556M stating the applicant has taken on board previous comments regarding the traffic assessment, but these have been dismissed by Cheshire East Highways. The representative stated that the specification for the substation fails to include dimensions on the plan and elevation drawings but does indicate the substation is higher than the boundary wall and two louvered vents will be visible to the garden of 11 Heathfield Square. There is also no assessment of the noise impact and there are shrubs proposed for planting in the narrow channel between the substation and the existing boundary wall. It was stated that the applicant intends to retain the existing wall but it only represents half of the western boundary. The plan still shows the replacement for the backs of the existing garages as a wooden fence but has left a gap in the boundary. The stakeholder group will be requesting a condition as part of the Construction Management Plan to use the Northwich Road entrance/exit for construction traffic.

A representative of the South Knutsford Residents Group spoke in relation to 22/2436D stating it is not clear if the 6ft high horizontal slat fencing proposed would harm the health of the established hedge and the setting of the LRCA. The representative also spoke in relation to application 22/2717M stating that the application should be a full planning application, it is for a garage in front of the approved, new house on land to the north of No 2. Residents will be objecting to the garage because the ridge will be 5.1m (16.75 ft) above the road surface, the location will mask sight lines for moving vehicles, and outdoor amenity space of the proposed new detached dwelling approved under 20/1848M will be reduced.

PL22/036 CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th June 2022.

PL22/037 PLANNING APPLICATIONS

It was RESOLVED to submit the comments detailed below.

Application Ref	Address	Application Detail	Town Council Comment
22/2413M	20 Parkgate Lane	Demolish existing conservatory and lean to structure. Rear ground floor extension with parapet flat roof. With associated internal and external alterations	The council raises no objections, subject to neighbour comments.
22/2432M	2 Teal Avenue	Single storey wraparound extension.	The council raises no objections, subject to neighbour comments and a replacement tree planted with.
22/2518M	8 Church Hill	Demolition of existing office building followed by the erection of a new office building and 3no. one bedroom apartments	The council OBJECTS on the grounds the proposal constitutes overdevelopment of the site by way of height, the increase in footprint, and mass. The application does not include adequate cycle storage and the quantity of parking for motor vehicles is reduced and doesn’t fully address if the parking is being used for the offices or the three 1-bedroom apartments, and therefore fails to meet Knutsford Neighbourhood Plan policies T2 and T4. The council requests the Conservation Officer carefully assesses the impact of the proposal on the nearby listed buildings, and the Planning Officer assess the drainage requirements of the proposal, this is to ensure compliance with policies D4 and HE2 of the Knutsford Neighbourhood Plan.
22/0566M	Winstanley House, Northwich Road	Residential redevelopment of former Winstanley House site and demolition of associated garages. Replacement building containing 28 no 100% affordable apartments, car parking and landscaping.	Notwithstanding the applicant’s attention to previous comments, the council still has concerns over the details within the traffic assessment, and the specification for the substation fails to include dimensions on the plan and elevation drawings, there is indication the substation is higher than the boundary wall so this element cannot be fully considered until adequate information is submitted, and there is also no assessment of the noise impact. There are shrubs proposed for planting in the narrow channel between the substation and the existing boundary wall which should be addressed. The applicant intends to retain the existing wall but it only represents half of the western boundary. The plan shows the replacement for the backs of the existing garages as a wooden fence but has left a gap in the boundary. The council requests that neighbours are fully consulted regarding the boundary treatments and requests a condition the Construction Management Plan uses the Northwich Road entrance/exit for construction traffic.
22/2717M	2 Croft Lane	Erection of garage outbuilding for vehicular storage.	The council OBJECTS on the grounds that the application should be a full planning application. The garage ridge height will be 5.1m (16.75 ft) above the road surface, the location will mask sight lines for moving vehicles which needs to be addressed by a suitably qualified officer, and outdoor amenity space of the proposed new detached dwelling approved under 20/1848M will be reduced, therefore the proposal fails to comply with policies D1, D2, and H3 of the Knutsford Neighbourhood Plan.
22/2436D	9 Goughs Lane	Discharge of conditions 11, 13 & 14 on approved application 20/1246M – Demolition of existing dwelling to construct new replacement dwelling	The council requests the Conservation Officer is satisfied the proposal is not detrimental to the Legh Road Conservation Area and the Tree Officer is satisfied the proposal meets policy D3 of the Knutsford Neighbourhood Plan.
22/2523D	Former Knutsford Memorial Hospital, Northwich Road	Discharge of Conditions 8 & 9 on 18/0089M – Erection of Retirement Living Housing (Category ll type accommodation) with associated communal facilities, landscaping and car parking together with a Memorial Garden following demolition of the existing buildings.	The council is unable to comment due to the technical nature of the proposal and requests a suitably qualified professional is satisfied with the methodology employed.
22/2538D	Besom Hill Cottage, Tabley Road, Knutsford, WA16 0EN	Discharge of conditions1, 3, 4, 5 & 6 on 21/5055M – Listed building consent for replacement of rear porch with single storey extension. Replacement of 4No timber sheds with 1No. outbuilding.	The council is unable to comment due to the technical nature of the proposal and requests the Conservation Officer is satisfied with the methodology employed.

PL22/038 TREE APPLICATIONS

It was RESOLVED to submit the comments detailed below.

Application Ref	Address	Application Detail	Town Council Comment
22/2524T	Ash Court, King Edward Road	Works to Protected Trees: T2 Acer clip on the property side to formatively prune the shape for future growth. Reason: to reshape the crown / formative prune. Cons. T3 2 x Crab apple reduce and reshape by up to 2 m all round. Cons T6 Crab Apple reduce 1 – 1.25 m all round to control size. Cons T11 Yew crown lift to the height of the top of the window by the removal of sub lateral branches only. Ensure 1 m clearance from the property. TPO T12 Evergreen Oak crown raise to 6 m from ground level, shortening longer limbs over the road and drive. Remove epicormic growth off the tree. Reason: to reduce over-extended limbs roadside and to crown lift over the road	The council raises no objections subject to neighbour comments and would like to commend the applicant for providing a good level of detail.
22/2487T	6 Rockford Lodge	Works to Protected Trees: T1 Silver Birch – Mature tree within close proximity to property (<5m). Tree is causing excessive shading and lateral branches interfering with property. Fell to ground level. T2 Black Pine x 3- Mature trees causing excessive shading on garden area. Remove deadwood >40mm and reduce lateral branches by up to 2m.	The council raises no objections, subject to neighbour comments.
22/2628T	Rose Bank, Toft Road	Section 211 notice: I wish to remove a partially dead 60ft Leylandii in my back garden. It is causing concern to me and my neighbour as it is sited only 1 meter away from their garage and is constantly shedding debris and when it is windy there is so much sway that the forces will cause it to snap and fall through the neighbours garage roof. In addition to this, there is also BT telegraph pole delivering internet and telephone services to 3 homes, the pole stands 1 meter away and its cables are passing through the branches at around 30 feet. The tree and its branches will at some point cause the cables to snap and will disrupt the telephone and internet services to the three homes at my expense.	The council raises no objections, subject to neighbour comments.
22/2723T	Bracklyn, Mobberley Road	Section 211 notice: T1 Lime – crown reduction by 3 metres T2 Beech – crown reduction by 3 metres	The council raises no objections, subject to neighbour comments.
22/2752T	Oakhurst, Toft Road	Works to Protected Trees: T1 – large Ash tree. 2m crown reduction. Cutting back overhanging branches over neighbouring garden by 3m (36 Grassfield Way) branches snapping regularly into garden.	The council raises no objections, subject to neighbour comments.
22/2756T	3 Fairmead, Legh Road	Section 211 notice: The home owner would like to remove one Acer sp. In the rear garden, it was planted as a small ornamental species but has grown into a medium sized tree and is now in danger of compromising a boundary wall and BT infrastructure. The home owner plans to replant a small ornamental Acer specimen. The tree is highlighted in yellow on the sketch plan provided.	The council raises no objections, subject to neighbour comments.

PL22/039 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

It was noted that the next meeting would be held on Monday 12^th September 2022 at 6pm.