Agenda and draft minutes

To receive and note apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received and noted for Cllrs J Burton, Steward, Wann and Whitcroft.

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

[Please see attached sheet for further guidance for Members].

Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest they might have in respect of business on the agenda, if they had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. Cllr Clarke noted that his employer had submitted an objection in relation to agenda item 5a (Land Lying to the North West of Murton Way, York) and he would withdraw from the meeting for that application.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Planning Committee A meetings held on 24 October 2024 and 7 November 2024.

Resolved: 

1)   That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2024 be approved as a correct record subject to the fourth bullet point of Max Reeve’s public participation changing to: ‘Waterloo Place was named as it was because it was the name of a previous route that went to the river from Coney Street.’

2)      That the approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2024 be deferred until the detail of the bullet point on the S106 agreement was clarified.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings.  The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Tuesday 3 December 2024. 

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form.  If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services.  Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme on general matters within the remit of the Planning Committee A.

This item invites Members to determine the following planning applications:

Members considered a schedule of reports of the Head of Planning and Development, relating to the following planning applications, outlining the proposals and relevant policy considerations and setting out the views of consultees and officers.

Erection of a Battery Energy Storage System with associated infrastructure, site levelling works, access, landscaping and ancillary works [Osbaldwick and Derwent Ward]

Members considered a Major Full Application from Net Zero Fourteen Limited for the Erection of a Battery Energy Storage System with associated infrastructure, site levelling works, access, landscaping and ancillary works.

The Head of Planning and Development outlined the application and gave a presentation on it, advising that Members needed to base their decision on the elevation plans. She was asked and explained that there was no detail in the planning site in relation to the proposed extension of the Travellers site.

The Senior Planning Officer gave an update noting that an updated cover letter from the Agent, noting that the discharge rate had been corrected in the document to 1.93 l/s. Additional representations had also been received, taking the letters of support to 13. A petition had also been received from a Shared Voices email and as the Local Planning Authority was unable to verify the submissions, they could not be considered individually. There had also been a letter in support of refusal from Cllr Warters, which was included in the update.

Public Speakers

John Cossam spoke in support of the application. He noted that he lived on Hull Road, which was 5 minutes from the site and that he tried to live ecofriendly. He explained that there was a number of reasons stopping people from going green and that the battery farm addressed the technological need. He added that the battery farm was an excellent way of storing energy and would allow the absorption of low energy in a climate emergency.

Steven Gough (NetZero Fourteen Ltd) spoke in support of the application on behalf of the applicant. He noted that there were 100 representations in support of the application. He addressed the four recommended reasons for refusal in relation to the Green Belt, very special circumstances and battery storage. He noted that the visual impacts were localised and the on site boundary was well screen. Regarding fire safety he noted that the North Yorkshire fire authority had not objected and that they (the applicant) had commissioned an independent fire expert. He added that the best and most versatile land was grade 2 and 3 and that the proposal could be found acceptable on its own merits.

Members asked Stephen Cough a number of questions to which he explained that:

·        The NFCC guidance regarding the distance of 6m between units was guidance, not policy. There was two points of access into the battery compound and the safety expert commissioned concluded that the application was in line with NFCC guidance.

·        The author of the report was not a qualified safety engineer and was an expert in safety. He added that North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service had raised no objection to the application.

·        How the electricity was sent to the storage units.

·        There would be no disruption to the infrastructure.

·        York needed battery storage and Osbaldwick was the only location for the battery storage.

·        Regarding the exploration of other sites, they needed to understand the capacity on the network and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 140.

Reserved matters application for the scale, layout, appearance and landscape for the erection of 133no. dwellings, 7no. self-build dwellings and associated infrastructure pursuant to outline application 18/00680/OUTM

And

Variation of Legal Agreement (affordable housing tenure mix and reallocation of Highways Sim Balk Contribution to provide bus stops) made under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) dated 27th April 2023 (in relation to 18/00680/OUTM) [Copmanthorpe Ward]

Members considered a major reserved matters application from Robert Carter for the for the scale, layout, appearance and landscape for the erection of 133 dwellings, 7 self-build dwellings and associated infrastructure pursuant to outline application 18/00680/OUTM and variation of Legal Agreement (affordable housing tenure mix and reallocation of Highways Sim Balk Contribution to provide bus stops) made under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) dated 27th April 2023 (in relation to 18/00680/OUTM).

Referring to paragraph 1.3 of the published report, the Chair reminded the committee of what could and could not be considered. The Head of Planning and Development Services noted that the application and legal agreement were being considered. She outlined the application and gave a presentation on it. She was asked and showed where York Field Lane and the self-build plots were located on the plans.

At this point, Cllr Merrett declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of York Bus Forum. He asked and was shown where the bus stops were in relation to the crossing and the Head of Highway Access and Development noted that it was an uncontrolled crossing with the speed limit on the road being 30mph.

Members were provided with an update giving clarification on the points raised by waste services. The Head of Environment Services stated that:

‘The statement from waste services recognises in future that collections will not happen from unadopted road such as farm tracks, however for new residential estates such as the one in this applications waste collections will take place where the CYC waste and recycling crews can safely access the site and there is a road surface (temporary or completed) by which it can safely support all waste collections.’

A Member asked how this related to paragraph 5.21 of the published report and the Head of Highway Access and Development clarified that waste services would not drink on a private drive and some people on the site would have to take their waste to waste collection points. She was asked and noted that the majority if waste collection points were within 30m.

Public Speaker

Vikki Sykes (Agent for Applicant) spoke in support of the applications. She explained that the applicant had worked with consultees on the development to provide a wide range of 1 to 5 bedroom homes (predominantly 2 and 3 bedrooms) and to provide housing for older residents. She explained that a key component of the scheme was landscaping and she outlined the outdoor space, noting that it provided for a variety of ages. She added that the applicant had worked closely with the community and had made amendments to the scheme. She noted that Miller Homes committed nationally to the homes for nature scheme and she noted that there had also undertaken consultation with Network Rail.

Vikki Sykes was joined Ian Thomson (Miller Homes) and Andrew Naylor (Miller Homes) to answer Member questions. They were asked and explained that:

·        A residents management company would look after the green  ...  view the full minutes text for item 141.