Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

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

 

He 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.

 

Councillor Taylor and Councillor Forrest both advised that they had enough information to make a decision today.

 

Councillor Colville said that he had some questions.  He intimated that it may be possible to have a garage on that site as there had been one there before, but he would like the Applicant to provide some additional information.  He said it was not clear if the garage intended to serve the Applicant or an employee who lived in the house adjacent to the site.  He advised that he would like clarification on whether or not the garage was required as part of the Applicant’s business as it had been indicated in the Applicant’s submission that it would be used for the safe storage of a works van which would contain valuable equipment.

 

Councillor Taylor advised that he had looked at the location of the site online to establish what the relationship was between the Applicant’s house and the site.  He said that, although on the same road, there was some distance between the Applicant’s house and the site.  Councillor Taylor advised that he had also looked into the history of the site and noted that the garage previously there was a small wooden shed  compared to the substantial development now proposed.  He suggested that this proposed development would not be a domestic garage and had all the hall markings for him as a commercial development whether for a simple vehicle or storage of equipment.  He said that it appeared to be the size and scale of a workshop and did not strike him as being a development to facilitate the enjoyment of a residential property.  Councillor Taylor advised that he aligned 98% with the Planning Officer’s view but took Councillor Colville’s point on board about seeking clarity on whether this proposal was for a commercial development which may be inconsistent with the domestic setting of the surrounding environment and that he would support Councillor Colville’s request for further information.

 

Councillor Forrest confirmed that she concurred with what had been said and would be happy to support a request for further information.

 

Councillor Colville referred to Supplementary Guidance SG BUS 1, Paragraph F which made it clear that if a development was for business use it had to be in keeping with its surrounding area.  He said that he noted that the site was close to ACHA houses and that he would like a view from Planning on whether policy SG BUS 1 would need to be taken account of in respect of conditions applied if the LRB were minded to grant this application.

 

Councillor Colville also advised that he would like confirmation from the Applicant as to the likely height of the proposed development as this would be key to how it would sit within the surrounding area.

 

The Members of the LRB agreed that a site visit would not be required.

 

Decision

 

The Argyll and Bute LRB agreed:

 

1.    To request the following written information from the Applicant:

 

a)    clarification of the address of the property adjacent to the site the Applicant initially indicated would be served by the garage and whether this would still  be the case,

 

b)    clarification on whether or not the garage would be for business use, and if so, justification of the operational and locational need to have the garage at this site,

 

c)    clarification of the likely height of the proposed development.

 

2.    To request from the Planning Officer the following written information –

 

a)    clarification on whether policy SG BUS 1, in particular Paragraph F, would need to be taken into account if confirmation received that this proposal was for business rather than domestic use,

 

b)    appropriate conditions and reasons to attach to any consent if the LRB were minded to grant the application.

 

3.    To continue consideration of this case until the further information has been receive and interested parties have had the opportunity to comment on this information.

 

(Reference: Notice of Review and supporting documents and comments received, submitted)