Agenda and minutes

The following site was inspected before the meeting.

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

At this point in the meeting, Members were invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.  No interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the West & City Centre Area Planning Sub-Committee held on Wednesday 27 April 2011.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the meeting of the West and City Centre Area Planning Sub Committee held on 27 April 2011 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered their wish to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is by 5pm the working day before the meeting, in this case 5pm on Wednesday 15 June 2011. Members of the public can speak on specific planning applications or on other agenda items or matters within the remit of the committee.

To register please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of this agenda.

Prior to the meeting it had been agreed by the Chair and Officers that the opportunity would be given for someone to speak generally in relation to wind farms and wind turbines.

The Chair of Copmanthorpe Wind Farm Action Group addressed the Committee. He explained that he had lived in Copmanthorpe for 27 years and the action group had been formed after proposals for the wind farm were put forward. He advised Members that the group had organised a petition which had over 1700 signatures in opposition to the wind farm mast and farm. He acknowledged that this application was for only one wind monitoring mast but that an application for a wind farm would follow. He reported that the majority of local residents were against this application and deeply disturbed by future proposals for a wind farm, which would be an intrusion in the green belt and very close to residential properties and would lead to concerns including air safety and noise. He distributed a photo montage illustrating how a wind farm would look.

To determine the following planning applications related to the West and City Centre Area.

Members considered a schedule of reports of the Assistant Director (Planning and Sustainable Development), relating to the following planning applications, outlining the proposals and relevant policy considerations and setting out the views and advice of consultees and officers.

Demolition and erection of wall to create off road parking. [Mickelgate Ward] [Site Visit]

Members were advised that this full application from Mr Donald Salter, for the demolition and erection of a wall to create off road parking, had been withdrawn by the applicant prior to the meeting.

Demolition of part of boundary wall and erection of new relocated wall  [Mickelgate Ward]  [Site Visit].

Members were advised that this application for listed building consent from Mr Donald Salter, for the demolition of part of the boundary wall and erection of a new relocated wall, had been withdrawn by the applicant prior to the meeting.

Erection of cable stayed wind monitoring mast up to a maximum height of 70 metres for a temporary period of three years. [Rural West York] [Site Visit]

Members considered a full application from Banks Renewables Ltd for the erection of a cable stayed wind monitoring mast up to a maximum height of 70 metres for a temporary period of three years.

Officers circulated a written update to Members in respect of this application and read this out for the benefit of those present at the meeting. They provided the following information.

• At the committee site visit on 15^th June, the marker indicating the proposed site appeared to be in the wrong place and may have been up to 100m to the east of the proposed site. They confirmed that the measurements expressed in the committee report were correct.

• The applicant has stated that there would be 8 land anchors (for the guy wires) rather than the 5 previously stated in their supporting information. This was not considered to further impact on the visual amenity of the proposed wind monitoring mast or its setting within the landscape. 

• A further 70 signatures have been added to the petition submitted by the Copmanthorpe Wind Farm Action Group making the total number of signatures on the petition 1778.

• A further letter has been received from the York Civic Trust. In relation to the wind turbine, they stated that this would have a negative impact on the residents of Copmanthorpe, there should be a buffer zone of 1500 metres between a wind turbine and any dwellings and it would cause low frequency modulation. They submitted a photomontage of the wind turbines and dwellings within Copmanthorpe.

• A further two letters of objection had been received, the majority of concerns raised related to wind turbines, however no issues not already reported in the committee report were put forward with regard to the wind monitoring mast and the potential wind turbines.

• Two letters of support had been received since the agenda had been published. The first of these had been received from someone who had made comments in support previously and these had been expressed in representation section of the committee report. This letter raised some further points in relation to wind turbines but officers explained these were not considered to be a material planning consideration for this application.  In the second letter of support the majority of comments again related to wind turbines, however in relation to the mast, the letter stated that “to turn down the opportunity to monitor the potential source of renewable energy that could make a contribution to York’s future energy needs and carbon reduction targets would go against all of the above points but also render the stated aim for York to be a “leading environmentally friendly city meaningless” (This letter was circulated at the meeting at the request of the author as she was not able to attend the meeting personally to address the Committee under public participation.)  A full copy of the officer’s update has been published online with the agenda papers.

Officers reminded Members that this application was for a wind monitoring mast and Members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5c