Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair, Councillor Colville, 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 Moffat advised that having considered the information provided, she felt a site visit was required to assess the situation in full. 

Councillor Green advised that he too felt that, in order to appreciate the situation, a site visit was necessary. 

The Chair, Councillor Colville advised that he felt that without the technical knowledge he was unable to form an opinion at this stage.  He suggested that the Roads Officer demonstrate how, using design guidance, the sight visibility figures for the application have been arrive at, and whether it is possible for the figure of 25 to be reduced to 17 and still be within the guidance. 

Councillor Moffat agreed with Councillor Colville and advised that it would appear that other properties in the area have less of a sight clearance, but reiterated that a site visit would inform her opinion of the case.

Councillor Green agreed with both Councillor Colville and Councillor Moffat and suggested that without a site visit he would find it difficult to justify any further leeway being given. 

Having clarified that the information Councillor Colville was seeking was to take the form of a written representation, the Adviser provided advice in relation to the process and timescales involved. 

Decision

The Argyll and Bute Local Review Body unanimously agreed to:

1.    request that the Roads Department demonstrate how, using design guidance, the sight visibility figures for this application have been arrived at, and whether it is possible for the figure of 25 to be reduced to 17 and still be within the guidance;

2.    hold an accompanied site inspection to view the development site in context of the surrounding area and require both the Planning authority and Roads Department to attend with an invitation extended to all other interested parties; and

3.    adjourn the meeting and reconvene at the earliest opportunity after the site inspection and following receipt of the further information and comments from interested parties.

(Reference:  Notice of Review and Supporting Information, comments from Interested Parties and further comments from Applicant, submitted)