Agenda item

Construction of two all-weather tennis courts and an all-weather multi-use sports court with associated perimeter fencing and 10 no. 8 m floodlight columns. [Site Visit]  [Huntington/New Earswick Ward]

Members considered a full application by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust for the construction of two all-weather tennis courts and an all-weather multi-use sports court with associated perimeter fencing and ten 8 metre floodlight columns.

Mr Andrew Calverley, a local resident, addressed the committee. He stated that New Earswick had been influenced by the garden city movement with everything, from living spaces to garden spaces and had been very carefully planned. He expressed his objections to where the building would take place, in one of the main central parts of the village, which he felt would lead to a permanent and detrimental change to the environment of the village. ¹

Ms Kathryn Jukes, Planning Consultant for Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, addressed the committee in support of the application. She explained that the proposals would compensate for the loss of the tennis courts in the centre of the village on the Red Lodge application site. The new tennis courts would utilise an area of the New Earswick Sports Club which was currently overgrown and under utilised therefore they wouldn’t be any loss of existing sports facilities currently at the sports club. She advised that they had worked with planning officers to satisfy a number of different parties’ requirements and the proposed scheme was the culmination of discussions and collaborative working. She advised that the relocation of the tennis courts to the new location would facilitate the redevelopment of the Red Lodge Care Home site in the centre of the village. Furthermore the presence of the tennis club on the same site should help New Earswick Sports Club to secure funding as part of an ongoing programme to extend and update facilities at the sports club.

Members felt that there was sufficient space for the construction of the tennis courts and multi use games court and felt that this could increase the use of the sports club by providing a dedicated sports area within the village.

Resolved:  That the application be approved subject to the conditions listed in the report.

Reason:     The wider benefits to the community of co-locating with other sports and the relocation to enable continued provision of a well-used tennis facility in New Earswick are considered to amount to very special circumstances that clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness and modest harm to openness, even when affording substantial weight to that harm. The proposal therefore accords with Green Belt policies within the NPPF. At the same time the location of the facilities relative to the adjoining railway would not be such as to impact upon its operational effectiveness.

¹ [Note: It became evident only when Mr Calverley was speaking that, although he had registered to speak on Plans item 4a (Sports Ground, White Rose Ave), his comments related to the Red Lodge application which had already been considered prior to this application. The Chair advised that, whilst Members noted his views, they were unable to take these into account in relation to the Red Lodge application as this had already been considered.]