Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Gordon Blair, Lorna Douglas and Audrey Forrest.

Councillor Rory Colville declared a non-financial interest in item 6 of this Minute (Scottish Government Consultation on Reviewing and Extending Permitted Development Rights (PDR) in Scotland – Phase 1) as he is the owner of a building which forms part of a farm steading.  He left the meeting and took no part in the consideration of this report.

a)    The Minutes of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee held on 21 October 2020 at 11.00 am were approved as a correct record.

b)    The Minutes of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee held on 21 October 2020 at 2.00 pm were approved as a correct record.

c)    The Minutes of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee held on 21 October 2020 at 2.30 pm were approved as a correct record.

d)     The Minutes of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee held on 21 October 2020 at 3.00 pm were approved as a correct record.

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support

Following publication of the Scottish Government’s best practice guidance on the power to refuse to grant private hire licences on the grounds of over provision, consideration was given to a report inviting Members to amend the procedure for determining private hire car licence applications.

Decision

The Committee agreed:

1.    that all future unopposed applications for private hire car licences may be granted by Officers on a delegated basis; and

2.    that Officers should prepare periodic reports at least every six months, for the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee providing updates on the number of private hire cars and taxis across the licensing authority’s area.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support, submitted)

Report by Head of Development and Economic Growth

The Planning Officer spoke to the terms of the report and to supplementary report number 1.  The application site lies within the Countryside Zone where policy LDP DM 1 will only support proposals that are infill, redevelopment, rounding off or change of use.  In this case the conversion of the church building and partial use of the adjacent field for associated domestic purposes is considered to be consistent with the settlement and spatial strategy.    The Council own the graveyard which completely surrounds the church.  The proposed external alterations to convert the church into a mainstream dwellinghouse are considered to be minimal and the physical appearance and character of the church would be relatively untouched.  The proposal has attracted a total of 19 letters of objection, including 5 late representations detailed in the supplementary report.  The concerns raised relate to the use of the church building as a dwellinghouse, impact on existing amenity and privacy as a historic and functional graveyard, access and car parking issues and serving issues.   There have been no objections from consultees subject to conditions.  It is not considered that holding a discretionary hearing would add value to the planning process.  The proposal is considered to be consistent with the relevant development plan policies and it was recommended that planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and reasons detailed in the report of handling.

Decision

The Committee agreed to grant planning permission subject to the following conditions and reasons:

1.    The development shall be implemented in accordance with the details specified on the application form dated 25^th April 2019 and the approved drawings listed in the table below, and supporting information, unless the prior written approval of the planning authority is obtained for an amendment to the approved details under Section 64 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

Reason: For the purpose of clarity, to ensure that the development is implemented in accordance with the approved details.

2.    Prior to the commencement of any development, the existing private water supply and infrastructure for storage and distribution will need to meet the requirements of The Water Intended for Human Consumption (Private Supplies) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 if it is to be used for the proposed development.  The development itself shall not be brought into use or occupied until the required supply has been installed in accordance with the recommendations made in the submitted report by Highwater Private Water Supplies – “Spring Water Supply Stronyaraig, near Inverchaolain”, dated 28^th November 2018. 

Reason:  In the interests of public health and in order to ensure that an adequate private water supply in terms of both quality and quantity can be provided to meet the requirements of the proposed development and to protect existing supplies.

3.    No development (including any tree felling or land engineering works or any associated operations) shall take place within the site until the developer has secured the implementation of an archaeological watching brief, to be carried out by an archaeological organisation acceptable to the Planning Authority, during all ground disturbance. The retained archaeological organisation shall be afforded access at all reasonable times and allowed to record, recover and report items of interest and finds. A method statement for the watching brief will be submitted by the applicant, agreed by the West of Scotland Archaeology Service, and approved by the Planning Authority prior to commencement of the watching brief. The name of the archaeological organisation retained by the developer shall be given to the Planning Authority and to the West of Scotland Archaeology Service in writing not less than 14 days before development commences.

Reason: In order to allow the recovery and recording of any finds of archaeological significance.

4.    The proposed shared vehicular access shall be designed and constructed with a passing place that shall be constructed as per Standard Detail for private driveway SD8004a Access from Single lane road. The access shall be designed and constructed to prevent water running onto the public road. The car parking area shall be designed with a turning area to allow vehicles to exit the site in a forward manner. The access shall be constructed prior to any work commencing on site, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Planning Authority.

Reason:  In the interests of road safety.

5.    The dwellinghouse hereby approved shall not be occupied until sightlines of 75 metres from a 2.4 metre setback onto the C10 serving the new domestic curtilage to the north of the church site have been provided. Thereafter, no obstruction to visibility (i.e. walls, fences and hedges) shall be permitted within these visibility splays above a height of 1.0 metre from ground level.

      Reason:  To achieve and maintain required sightlines onto the C10 road.

6.    Prior to the first occupation of the dwellinghouse, a parking area for a minimum of four vehicles shall be provided within the application site (i.e. land  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillor Donald MacMillan left the meeting at this point.

Having previously declared an interest in the following item, Councillor Rory Colville left the meeting at this point.

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

A report appraising the Committee of the content and potential implications of Scottish Government proposals to review and extend Permitted Development Rights (PDR) as set out in their Phase 1 consultation paper published on 1 October 2020 and its accompanying Strategic Environmental Assessment was considered.

The deadline for responding to the consultation was 12 November 2020 and an Officer response was submitted in advance of this deadline with commentary advising that this was a draft response and may be subject to a further submission of amendment following consideration by the PPSL Committee.

Decision

The Committee:

1.    agreed to endorse the submitted response to the consultation as per the detailed response to each of the 73 consultation questions contained within Appendix B of the report; and

2.    acknowledged and thanked Officers for their work in preparing the response to this consultation within the very short timescale provided.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 6 November 2020, submitted)

Councillor Rory Colville returned to the meeting at this point.

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

Consideration was given to a report seeking approval for an addendum to the Council’s Enforcement and Monitoring Charter which would provide clarity to officers, complainants, and land owners of the weighting that Covid-19 and its relevance to the unauthorised development will be afforded in the setting of timescales and the processes that will be followed when seeking to resolve a breach of planning control.

Decision

The Committee agreed to:

1.    note the guidance provided by the Scottish Government’s Chief Planner on relaxation of planning enforcement in response to Covid-19;

2.    note that the Planning Position Statement (Appendix A), setting out previously approved relaxation of planning controls within town centres will now remain in force until 31 March 2021 (following approval by the Council’s Leadership Group on 29 October 2020); and

3.    approve the proposed addendum to the Enforcement & Monitoring Charter (Appendix B) for a temporary period expiring 31 March 2021, subject to periodic review in the event of updated guidance being provided by the Scottish Government.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 5 November 2020, submitted)