Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of Area 1 Planning Committee held on 1 December 2016

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Area 1 Planning Committee held on 1 December 2016 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Introduction and Glossary

Supplementary report of Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health (tabled)

Decisions were taken on the following applications subject to the pre-requisites, informatives, conditions or reasons for refusal set out in the report of the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health or in the variations indicated below.  Any supplementary reports were tabled at the meeting.

Members of the public addressed the meeting where the required notice had been given and their comments were taken into account by the Committee when determining the application.  Speakers are listed under the relevant planning application shown below. 

Demolition of former school buildings (part of which are occupied by the Raphael Medical Centre for Class C2 care use and part of which are vacant) and redevelopment with a two storey building and basement to provide a 28 bedroom specialist care facility with landscaping and car parking at Raphael Medical Centre, Coldharbour Lane, Hildenborough.

The Chairman referred to the need for the applicant to advance a robust case of ‘very special circumstances’ to demonstrate a clearly evidenced case of need for the proposed new facility.  Unfortunately, little additional information had been forthcoming and it was now necessary to determine the application based on the material submitted.   The report of the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health concluded that the proposal constituted inappropriate development within the Green Belt and that ‘very special circumstances’ had not been sufficiently advanced to support actual need.

RESOLVED: That planning permission be REFUSED for the following reasons:

(1)   The site lies within the Metropolitan Green Belt where there is a strong presumption against permitting inappropriate development, as defined in paragraphs 89 and 90 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2012. The proposed development comprises inappropriate development which is by definition harmful to the Metropolitan Green Belt. In addition, the materially larger scale of the proposed building (in terms of its increased height, floorspace and footprint) would cause substantial harm to the open characteristics of the site and the openness of the Green Belt in this location. No very special circumstances exist which would be sufficient to outweigh the degree of harm caused to the Metropolitan Green Belt. As such, the proposed development is contrary to the requirements of Section 9 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2012 and Policy CP3 of the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Core Strategy 2007.

(2)   The site lies in open countryside, outside the rural settlement confines of Hildenborough where Tonbridge and Malling Borough Core Strategy 2007 Policy CP14 seeks to restrict new development to a limited number of instances. The proposed development does not meet any of these defined exceptions and therefore represents an inappropriate form of major development in the countryside, contrary to the requirements of this policy. There are no overriding material planning considerations which indicate that the provisions of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Core Strategy 2007 Policy CP14 should be set aside in this instance.

[Speakers: Rev Woodley-Jones – Hildenborough Parish Council; Mr P Osborne, Mr C Stimpson, Mr A Stephens and Mrs M Carlile – members of the public and Mr N Pople – on behalf of the applicant]

Outline Application: Detached 3 bedroom dwelling house (all matters reserved) at land adjoining 11 Uridge Crescent, Tonbridge.

RESOLVED:  That outlined planning permission be GRANTED in accordance with the submitted details, conditions, reasons and informatives set out in the report of the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health.

The Chairman to move that the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting during consideration of any items the publication of which would disclose exempt information.

There were no items considered in private.