Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest intimated.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised that no person present would be entitled to speak other than the Members of the Local Review Body (LRB) and Mr Reppke who would provide procedural advice if required.

The Chair advised that his first task would be to establish if the Members of the LRB felt that they had sufficient information before them to come to a decision on the review.  It was established that the LRB had enough information before them and they went on to determine the merits of the case.

Councillor Kinniburgh advised that in considering all the paperwork submitted he agreed with the Planning Officer’s assessment that there was not enough room to accommodate an additional dwelling on this site.  He noted a comment that the demolition of the current dwelling and the erection of one or more dwelling houses with front elevations facing Stewart Street may be found more favourable by the Planners.

Councillor Trail referred to comments about a very similar application made previously and refused and the Agent’s assessment that this was a “continued intransigence on the part of the planning department on this matter” and advised that he saw this as continuing to apply Policy and that he did not see any reason not to uphold the Planner’s decision to refuse this application.

The Chair advised that Planning was about providing enjoyment and housing with sufficient amenity and that you could probably fit a house onto this site but it would only lead to minimal amenity for other people and would not be a quality solution.  He advised that the demolition of the current property and redevelopment of the site more in keeping with the surrounding area would be better.

Decision

The Argyll and Bute Local Review Body agreed not to grant planning permission and to uphold the reasons for refusal by the Planning Department on the basis that they were satisfied that there would be an adverse effect on the amenity of the existing properties.

(Reference: Notice of Review and Supporting Documentation, Comments received from Planning and Comments received from Applicant, submitted)