Apologies were received from Cllr Reed and Cllr Mrs Murphy was in attendance as a substitute.

The minutes of the Planning and Licensing Committee held on 13th October 2015 were approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The report asked that Members agree the proposed budget and Schedule of fees and charges for 2016/17 in respect of the general licensing functions other than Hackney Carriage and Private Hire and any statutory or centrally set fees.

A motion was MOVED by Councillor McCheyne and SECONDED by Councillor Trump to agree the recommendation in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to:

1.         That the schedule of fees and charges for all non statutory fees as attached at appendix A be agreed and to take effect on and from 1 April 2016.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION:

As above stated, the fees should be set individually for each account and cross over between each is not permitted i.e. a surplus in one is not permitted to offset a deficit in another. Generally, where a fee is discretionary it is required to be ‘reasonable’. This means that the Council is not permitted to make a profit and therefore that the fee should aim to achieve full cost recovery subject to the inclusion only of the element of cost permitted by legislation.

5.2      The licensing team record their time on a daily basis in order to feed information into the budget setting process as accurately as possible. Traditionally, this has been done in respect of the Taxi Trading Accounts where the complexity of the legislation requires that these are calculated in a specific and very transparent manner. The same statistics have been used to calculate the cost of providing each licensing function and therefore the most appropriate fee, where this can be set or to accurately record any surplus or deficit where the fee is statutory.

5.3      In all cases further streamlining of processes within the licensing department and cost reductions brought about by efficiencies within the council as a whole e.g. the Town Hall project are expected to make a long term positive impact on the cost of running each function.

5.4      The proposed fees and charges and/or the surplus or deficit on the account along with a summary of the reasoning behind the proposals are highlighted separately below:

                        All calculations are reproduced in appendices B and C.

            5.4.1   Licensing Act 2003: - All Fees are Statutory

            The licensing Act 2003 (LA2003) function accounts for 39.09% of the        overall licensing function/resource. The overall cost of the LA2003 function    as at the close of the 2014/15 accounts is £137,423 as compared to an         income of £78,753. This means that a deficit is carried forward to 2016/17 of     £58,670.

            However, these fees are set under Central Government regulations            and have remained unchanged since implementation of the Licensing            Act in November 2005. In view of this there is no scope to set these fees at present, although the possibility of locally set fees has not been totally discounted by Government, which means that by continuing to calculate the year on year cost of this service, the Council will be better placed to set the most accurate and appropriate fee should this become possible at a later date.

5.4.2  ...  view the full minutes text for item 213.

The report asked Members to agree the proposed budget and Schedule of fees and charges for 2016/17 in respect of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licensing functions and for publication of the agreed fees and charges in accordance with statutory requirements.

A motion was MOVED by Councillor McCheyne and SECONDED by Councillor Trump to agree the recommendation in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to:

1.            That Members agree to the budget and proposed schedule of fees and charges for 2016/17 as shown in Appendix A of this report and for advertisement of the same to appear in a local newspaper in accordance with statutory requirements.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION:

The Council is required to review fees regularly to ensure that the Taxi licensing regime remains cost neutral.  Should any surplus accrue this must be adjusted in the follow years licence fees.

The driver account in particular is running at a surplus as at close of accounts for 2014/15 and it is anticipated that by the end of this financial year (2015/16) that surplus will have increased to over £40,000. Funds cannot lawfully be used to subsidise other Council functions, nor indeed other areas of licensing.

Neither can the funds be transferred within the various Taxi trading accounts e.g. a driver surplus cannot be used to offset a vehicle deficit. Therefore the surplus belongs to the holders of driver licences and must be returned. A reduction in the fees is the simplest means of achieving this.

Whilst the deficit in the operator account is not large, this has to be measured in proportion to the size of the account and the relatively small numbers of licences issued. On this basis the deficit should be recovered as soon as possible, although as with all accounts, work continues on the streamlining of the various processes and it is hoped that this will see a reduction in costs for future accounting years.

Mr Doodes was present and addressed the committee in objection to the application.

Mr Pickering, Applicant’s Representative was also present and addressed the committee in support of the application.

Cllr Keeble, Ward Member spoke in objection to the application, outlining the history of Blackmore which dates back to Roman times. The Bull is a large part of the village heritage and a community asset.

The site has diminished over the last 5 years, the bar has been removed and the original timbers have been sanded. The property is not been marketed appropriately and an offer has been received to develop the site as a local pub.

Blackmore has recently lost its Newsagent, Library and soon the post office premises, to lose the Bull will take out the heart of this village.

Cllr Watley, Parish Councillor of Blackmore, supports the objections to the application, along with strength of the comments from the Conservation Officer and the Inspectorate and the amount support within the Chamber.

Cllr Mrs Henwood, Ward Members also spoke in objection to the application.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Barrell and SECONDED by Cllr McCheyne the application be refused.

A vote was taken by a show of hands.

FOR:              Cllrs Barrell, Cloke, Mynott, Newberry, McCheyne,                                           Morrissey, Mrs Murphy, Tee, Trump and Wiles (10)

AGAINST:      (0)

ABSTAIN:      (0)

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.  That planning permission is REFUSED for the following reasons.

LT11- change of use or redevelopment of local services, including public houses will not be permitted unless it can be clearly demonstrated that the use is not viable and that there is no interest from an alternative similar community use.

C14 -  Development affecting Conservation Issues

CP1 (General Development Criteria) requires development to satisfy a range of criteria covering the following considerations: Character and appearance of the area; Residential amenities; Access; Highway safety; Environmental protection; and the Natural and Historic Environment

CP15/17 - Historic development to a Grade II Building.

 (Under Part 5.2 of the Council Constitution, Cllr Keeble was not able to able to vote on this application.  Cllr Carter was not present at this stage of the meeting and therefore did not take part in the vote).

 Cllr Morrissey declared a non pecuniary interest under the Council Code of Conduct by virtue of her employment at a local Estate Agents)

The agent has withdrawn his application.  The reason for the withdrawal is that the applicant considers the officer suggested conditions were too onerous, he will instead submit a certificate of lawful development as soon as it is practicable.

Mr Gambardella, was present and addressed the committee in support of the application.

The Officer informed the committee of an amendment to condition 3 within the report.

3 TIM07 Temporary permission - Use (Land)

The use hereby permitted shall be discontinued and the land restored to its former condition on or before 18 months from the date of this permission commencement in accordance with a scheme of work to be first agreed in writing with the local planning authority.

Cllr Carter, Ward Member spoke with reference to the application and acknowledged that improvements had been made, but still has concerns with regards to noise and the close proximity to local residents. The overall working area and opening times especially on a Sunday were expressed.

Cllr Mynott, Ward Member also spoke about his concerns relating to the  application.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Carter and SECONDED by Cllr Mynott the application be deferred.

A vote was taken by a show of hands.

FOR:             Cllrs Mynott, Carter, Newberry and Keeble (4)

AGAINST:      Cllrs Tee, Barrell, Wiles, Mrs Murphy, Trump and McCheyne (6)

ABSTAIN:      Cllr Morrissey (1)

The motion was LOST.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Trump and SECONDED by Cllr McCheyne that the application be approved, subject to two amendments.

Condition  2

Opening times to state Mon-Sat 8:00am-6:00pm and Sun 10:00am- 4:00pm.

Condition 6

Portacabin doors and windows remain closed for the whole duration.

A vote was taken by a show of hands.

FOR:            Cllrs Tees, Barrell, Wiles, Mrs Murphy, Newberry,                                            Morrissey and Keeble, Trump and McCheyne (9)

AGAINST:      Cllrs Carter and Mynott (2)

ABSTAIN:      (0)

The motion was CARRIED. That planning permission is APPROVED subject to the following conditions:

1 TIM01 Standard Time - Full

The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

Reason: To comply with Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended by Section 51 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

2 DRA01A Development in accordance with drawings

The development hereby permitted shall not be carried out except in complete

accordance with the approved drawing(s) listed above and specifications.

Reason: To ensure that the development is as permitted by the local planning

authority and for the avoidance of doubt.

3 TIM07 Temporary permission - Use (Land)

The use hereby permitted shall be discontinued and the land restored to its former condition on or before 18 months from the date of this permission in accordance with a scheme of work to be first agreed in writing with the local planning authority.

Reason: In the interest of amenity and to safeguard the character and appearance of the area.

4 U11267

The use shall not operate and no machinery or equipment associated with it shall be used on the premises before 07:00 and after 19:30, Mondays -Saturdays or before 09:00 and after 17:00 on Sundays and public holidays.

Reason: To safeguard the living conditions of nearby residents in accordance with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 217.

Mr Gravan, was present and addressed the committee in objection to the application.

Mr Charles, the Applicant, was also present and addressed the committee in support of the application.

Cllr Mrs Hubbard, Ward Member spoke in objection to the application due to the detrimental impact the proposal may have on the neighbouring property.  The depth of the extension and concerns of overbearing presents of the proposed chimney and the overlooking to neighbouring properties by the Juliet Balcony.

Cllr Tee, Ward Member, the over mass of the property and lose of light to neighbouring property under CP1.

Cllr Barrell, Ward Member, expressed his sympathy with the applicant, the property does need re-developing.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Tee and SECONDED by Cllr Barrell that the application be refused.

A vote was taken by a show of hands.

FOR:              Cllrs Tees, Barrell, Wiles, Cloke, Mrs Murphy, Newberry,                                Morrissey , Carter, Mynott,Keeble, Trump and McCheyne (12)

AGAINST:      (0)

ABSTAIN:      (0)

The motion was CARRIED. That planning permission is REFUSED for the following reasons:

Development size, overlooking of neighbouring property and lost of light.

CP1 - (General Development Criteria) requires development to satisfy a range of criteria covering the following considerations: Character and appearance of the area; Residential amenities; Access; Highway safety; Environmental protection; and the Natural and Historic Environment.

The Chair updated the committee on the report that went  to Policy, Resource and Finance Committee 2 November 2015 Policy, it was unanimously agreed to set up a cross party member working group to identify any changes or improvements needed to the Modern Planning Service.  It was also agreed that the findings and recommended actions of this review will be reported to the 15 December 2015 Policy, Finance and Resources Committee.

Wynbarns Farm

The minute of the 14^th April Planning and Development Committee relating to Wynbarns Farm, 148 Chelmsford Road, Shenfield, inaccurately reflect the decision of the Committee.  The implication contained within the minute, that a formal planning condition be applied to this permission, was not the decision of the Committee.  The minute should therefore have the reference to conditions removed.  The minute will therefore be amended to state the following:-

RESOLVED -to approve this application.

It was AGREED that the minutes been amended.

This meeting concluded at 9.23pm.