Agenda item

Conditional approval.

The Committee considered item 7 of the Officers’ reports.

Public Speakers

Victoria Holliday (Cley Parish Council)

Calum Lamont and Tomas Klassnik (supporting)

The Head of Planning reported that two further representations had been received in respect of this application from the objector whose earlier comments were included in the report.  The main points of the further representation were:

·       the design and materials were inappropriate in the Cley Conservation Area and AONB;

·       local and national policy guidance in respect of the protection of designated assets should be respected;

·       he did not agree with the judgement of the Conservation and Design Team Leader;

·       the gates would not facilitate waste collection and deliveries when the owners were not in residence;

·       the visualisations were not an accurate representation of the proposal and its impact; and

·       lack of consultation with the Norfolk Coast Partnership.

The Head of Planning reported that the Norfolk Coast Partnership (NCP) had since been consulted and considered that the enlargement of the windows was minimal and light pollution could be mitigated by blinds or tinted glass.  The NCP had expressed a preference for timber gates but considered that the proposed gate would not add or detract from the Cley Conservation Area or AONB, the red brick and colour of the gate would respect the area and the flint wall should be retained.

The Head of Planning reported that on 8 July the Cabinet had resolved to adopt the Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans for Blakeney, Cley, Morston and Wiveton and they were now material considerations in the planning process. 

The Head of Planning presented a location plan indicating the site and coastal path, photographs of the previous gates which had been removed, the existing opening and visualisations of the proposed gate.  He explained that planning permission was required for the gates due to their proximity to the highway and the gates which had been removed would also have required planning permission.  Stone sculptures which had been erected on the gate piers required planning permission but did not form part of the current application.  He referred to the objector’s concerns regarding the visualisations and explained that their purpose was only to give an impression of what the development would look like.  They were not intended to form part of the approved plans.

The Head of Planning referred to the main issue of design set out in the report.  He referred to the content of the newly adopted Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan relating to design and materials.  Officers considered that the proposed materials reflected the colour palette of the local area and that the visual elements of the proposal reflected the street scene.  He recommended approval of this application as set out in the report.

The Chairman read to the Committee the comments of Councillor Ms K Ward, the local Member, who was unable to attend the meeting.  She had referred to the objections raised by David Young, the former local Member, the Parish Council and local residents in respect of the urbanisation of the rural coastal setting.  She had commented that the structure had no practical purpose as a flood defence due to its design and the site was highly visible in a sensitive landscape.  She considered that the structure went against the grain of the adopted Conservation Area Appraisal and the desire for dwellings to be integrated into the landscape rather than cut off from their surroundings.  She had requested refusal of the application unless the plans were substantially altered.

Councillor N Lloyd considered that the applicants had done well to work with the Conservation and Design Team and that there was nothing wrong with the proposed design.

It was proposed by Councillor N Lloyd, seconded by Councillor G Mancini-Boyle and

RESOLVED with 10 Members voting in favour

That this application be approved in accordance with the recommendation of the Head of Planning.