Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair, Councillor Gordon Blair, 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 Ms Ledsom, who would provide procedural advice if required.

He referred to the further information requested at the previous meeting on 14 April 2026 from the Applicant and the Planning Officer, which was contained within the Agenda pack for today’s meeting along with comments from the Roads Officer and the Applicant, and 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 Blair advised that he could like clarity on a couple of issues. 

Councillor Armour advised that he would also like clarity on one issue. 

Councillor Wallace commented that the goal posts seemed to be shifting and he too would like clarity on some of the information provided.

Councillor Blair referred to Victorian villas along the esplanade in Dunoon.  He commented that many had driveways with poor visibility splays which were historical and he pointed out that many have had blind spot mirrors installed to aid road safety.  He advised that he would like the Roads Officer and Planning Officer to confirm whether it would be acceptable to install blind spot mirrors to aid road safety and careful driving when exiting the proposed driveway onto the carriageway and whether this would allow the reduced visibility splay dimensions proposed by the Applicant of 2 x 1.05 x 75m to be accepted by the Roads Officer and Planning Officer

Councillor Blair also referred to the rolling out of the 20 is Plenty National Government initiative and the reduction of speed limits on Argyll and Bute roads.  He said he would like the Roads Officer and Planning Officer to confirm if there were plans to reduce the speed limit on the B833 at this location and, if so, whether that would affect the calculations in relation to visibility splay measurements required when exiting the proposed driveway onto the carriageway.

Councillor Armour and Councillor Wallace agreed that it would be helpful to have this information.

Councillor Armour referred to page 22 of the Agenda pack in which the Applicant stated that the Planning Officer had advised in an email dated 5 December 2023 that the Roads Officer was “amenable to the reduction in visibility splay from 2.4 x 1.05 x 75m to 2 x 1.05m x 75m” and that this had been reaffirmed by the Planning Officer on 28 February 2024.  He said he would like the Roads Officer and Planning Officer to confirm if this statement was correct and the reduced visibility was still acceptable.  If the reduction in visibility splay was not acceptable, he would like the reason for this to be explained.

The Members of the LRB agreed to request this further information and noted that the Applicant would have the opportunity of commenting on this in due course.  They also noted that the Applicant had provided the information requested at the previous meeting in respect of an agreement with their neighbours to enable a Section 75 Agreement to be progressed.

Decision

The Argyll and Bute LRB agreed to request the following further written information from both the Roads Officer and the Planning Officer:

a)    to confirm whether it would be acceptable to install blind spot mirrors to aid road safety and careful driving when exiting the proposed driveway onto the carriageway and whether this would allow the reduced visibility splay dimensions proposed by the Applicant of 2 x 1.05 x 75m to be accepted by the Roads Officer and the Planning Officer;

b)    with reference to the 20 is Plenty National Government Initiative and the reduction in speed limits on Argyll and Bute roads, to confirm if there were plans to reduce the speed limit of the B833 at this location and, if so, whether that would affect the calculations in relation to visibility splay measurements required when exiting the proposed driveway onto the carriageway; and

c)    with reference to page 22 of the Agenda pack in which the Applicant states that the Planning Officer had advised in an email dated 5 December 2023 that the Roads Officer was “amenable to the reduction in visibility splay from 2.4 x 1.05 x 75m to 2 x 1.05m x 75m” and that this had been reaffirmed by the Planning Officer on 28 February 2024, to confirm if this statement is correct and clarify whether the reduced visibility splay is still acceptable.  If the reduction in visibility splay is not acceptable, the reason for this should be explained.

(Reference: Further Information from Applicant and Planning Officer and comments from Roads Officer and Applicant, submitted)