Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised that his first task would be to establish if the Members of the Local Review Body (LRB) felt that they had sufficient information before them to come to a decision on the Review.  All the Members of the LRB agreed that following their earlier Site Inspection (note of Site Inspection attached at Appendix A to this Minute) and the further information provided following their initial meeting on 26 February 2019, they had sufficient information before them to determine the case.

 

Councillor Moffat said she had initially thought from looking at the plans that it might be possible to site a chalet here but having seen the site she now did not think that it was suitable and did not wish to see the loss of the mature planting.

 

Councillor Currie advised that he had also hoped it might be possible to grant the application but he agreed with the concerns raised by Councillor Moffat and thought the house and chalet would be too close together.

 

Councillor Colville noted that Planning had seemed to suggest a smaller chalet would have been okay but he was not sure the site could accommodate that.  He said that clearly the Applicant had that option to explore.  He confirmed that he was of the same view as the other Members that this was not a suitable site for the chalet and that he supported the decision of the Planning Officer to refuse for the reasons stated in the report of handling.

 

Decision

 

The Argyll and Bute Local Review Body, having consider the merits of the case De Novo, agreed to uphold the decision to refuse planning permission for the following reason:-

 

1.      The proposed development, by virtue of its design, materials and character and the necessity to remove the existing mature planting currently screening the development site, would represent an incongruous feature within the garden ground of the dwellinghouse which would be visually intrusive and detrimental to the character and appearance of the dwellinghouse and its setting within the wider landscape contrary to the provisions of Local Development Plan Policies LP DM 1, LDP DM 3, LP DM 9 and the design and siting principles contained within Supplementary Guidance 2 - Sustainable Siting and Design Principles.

 

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

 

Appendix A

 

 

ARGYLL AND BUTE LOCAL REVIEW BODY

 

NOTE OF MEETING OF SITE INSPECTION RE CASE 19/0001/LRB

WESTWOOD POLVINISTER ROAD, OBAN, ARGYLL, PA34 5TN 8N - WEDNESDAY 10 APRIL 2019 at 2:00 PM

 

 

In attendance:             Councillor Rory Colville, Argyll and Bute LRB (Chair)

                                    Councillor Robin Currie, Argyll and Bute LRB

                                    Councillor Jean Moffat, Argyll and Bute LRB

                                    Charles Reppke, Head of Governance and Law (Adviser)

                                    David Love, Planning and Regulatory Services Authority

                                    Douglas McNab, Objector

                                                           

There no apologies or declarations of interest.

 

The Argyll and Bute LRB (ABLRB) agreed on 26 February 2019 to conduct an accompanied site inspection in order to view the location of the proposed development and assess the setting in the wider landscape.

 

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.  He then explained the procedure that would be followed and in the absence of the Applicant Mr Reppke confirmed with an occupier of the house that the site visit could proceed.  

 

The Chair asked Mr Love to explain the proposal and point out the location of the chalet/cabin.  Mr Love referred Members to the application drawings and answered further questions on the plans and the work necessary to the mature planting to secure site lines and to create the chalet.  It was noted by Councillor Moffat that the images appeared to show two different positions for the hot tub on either end of the decking. 

The Chair asked Mr McNab what his concerns were.  Mr McNab explained that he had lived in the area for 33 years and traffic had got busier and busier and that there had been a number of accidents.  There was also no pavement for pedestrians to walk on.  He was concerned about further use of the roadway as a road safety concern.

The site party looked at further aspects of the site and examined the apparent close proximity of the proposed chalet to the main house.

This concluded the site visit.