Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

a)    That Councillor Ibrahim had been appointed Chair for the meeting in Councillor Poyser’s absence.

Councillor Ibrahim welcomed everyone to the meeting. Members of the Committee and officers introduced themselves and the Chair outlined the procedures for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Poyser and Councillor McHugh.

Councillor Kay substituted for Councillor McHugh and Councillor Jackson substituted for Councillor Poyser.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a) Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b)   Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c)   Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d)   Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e)   Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or   longer.

(f)    Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g)   Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

The order of business would be as per the agenda.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 1^st November 2022 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

Installation of telecommunications equipment including 6No. Antennas (on 4No. new replacement tripods & support poles), 4No. Dishes, 2No. GPS Antennas, 5No. Equipment Cabinets and ancillary apparatus (following removal of existing equipment including 4No. Existing Antennas, 2No. Existing Cabinets, and Ancillary Apparatus)

(Planning application number: P2022/2151/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·       Members were shown the site location plan, with site highlighted in red, a plan of the surrounding Conservation areas of the site, street view photos from different elevations, the existing and proposed site plans, the roof plan of the antennas, and the existing and proposed elevations.

·       The Planning Officer confirmed that the height increase was 2.5m

·       In response to questions from the Sub Committee about how it should consider telecommunications applications, the Director of Planning advised that guidance stated that planning applications should expand electro-communication code networks, including 5G, and that it set out a framework for supporting it.

·       The Sub Committee heard objections from one resident, who raised concerns that the site was surrounded by residential property, that there was a significant increase of height to the existing elevation, that the proposed equipment has a bulkier footprint, that the proposal is disproportionate for a residential area and that the impact is not just confined to Calabria Road and would also impact the character of the conservation area.

·       The applicant was given equal time to address the Committee, in which the points raised included that this was an existing site, that there would be a benefit for its customers in the local area because of the upgrade and the precedent for development at this location had been set through approval of previous modifications. It was also raised that the national planning policy referred to upgrading existing sites rather than creating proliferation of sites among an area. If the applicant was to seek a different location it would cause network disruption.

·       In deliberation, members highlighted the visual impact, and that national guidance supports advancement of high quality telecoms materials.

·       In response to questions from the Sub Committee as to why the equipment had to be taller, the applicant responded that the arrangement and variety of antennas on the existing site stipulated the increase in height so as to alleviate any possible interference.

Councillor Klute proposed a motion to defer this application to a future meeting to allow the applicant to explore alternative assembly and configurations specifically regarding the total height of the proposal. This was seconded by Councillor Hayes and carried.

RESOLVED:

That consideration of the application be deferred for the reasons outlined above.

Section 73 (Minor material amendment) for removal / variation of condition 5 (hours of use of community centre) following a grant of planning permission Ref: P2017/4445/FUL dated 29/03/2018 For Erection of a new single storey Church and Community centre for Christ Church Highbury to accommodate the Church's office, reception and administration functions, as well as flexible community space for Church activities and community outreach, and a small cafe and associated alterations to the building. The application seeks to vary the existing opening hours of the community centre to commence at 07.00 hours daily

(Planning application number: P2021/1810/S73)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·       The Planning Officer highlighted in their presentation to the Committee that the application was to vary Condition 5 to allow the start time to commence at 7am from the existing 8am; and gave an overview of the site location plan, site in the context of Grade II listed buildings, street view photos, site plan, the approved ground floor plan and the approved elevations.

·       The Objector raised concerns as the closest neighbour to the site, that the reason Condition 5 was put in place originally was to prevent noise disturbance in what was now a quiet area, and that there would be an increase in traffic and issues around parking.

·       The Applicant proposal would enhance their ability to offer the space at a low cost or no cost to groups in need in the community, that they already community groups such as a support group for Ukrainian refugees and a foodbank, and the ability to let the space commercially at this time for which there is demand helps support this work and running costs. An example cited was hiring the space for fitness classes. The applicant confirmed this application did not relate to the café, only to the circular community space, for which the maximum capacity would be 20.

·       It was confirmed that the environmental health officer has raised no objections and the class use was D1.

·       It was suggested that a condition for no amplified music before 8am be tabled. It was noted by members however, that no noise objections had been raised and that there had already been a compromise in requesting an opening time from 7am rather than the 6am which had already been proposed, and that another condition would be detrimental. The Legal Officer’s opinion was that provided the Committee felt the condition was necessary, it could be imposed.  It was also suggested that the application be approved, with the parking issues addressed separately by Council officers.

Councillor Ibrahim proposed a motion to implement an additional condition for the prohibition of amplified music before 8am. Wording was to be delegated to officers. This was seconded by Councillor Klute and carried.

RESOLVED:

That following consideration of the case officer’s report (the assessment and recommendations therein), the presentation to Committee, submitted representations and objections provided verbally at this meeting, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and informatives set out in Appendix 1  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Change of use to Class E(g) for the provision as an Architect's studio. Replacement of existing single glazed aluminium framed windows and single door, with enlarged double glazed aluminium framed windows and double doors.

(Planning application number: P2021/2502/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·       The Planning Officer highlighted in their presentation that the application was for a change of use, showed the application perimeter, aerial view of the perimeter, the application site in the context of Grade II listed buildings, the street view photos of the mews and access to it from an under croft, the Ground Floor plan, the proposed cycle storage and the proposed and existing elevations. Class Use was restricted to office use only (Class E(g)(i)) and permitted development rights were also restricted so it couldn’t be converted to residential use, which was listed under Condition 12.

·       There was no proposal for plant equipment or heating. Plant equipment would require a separate planning application.

·       The objector cited previous problematic and unauthorised use of the site as a repair shop, causing anti-social behaviour, and only ceased after the appeal for the enforcement notice was withdrawn, and that without the imposition of stringent conditions there would be a repeat of the problems.

·       The applicant was not present for the meeting.

·       In deliberation, members noted that with the number of conditions applied, this should mitigate any potential issues, but raised concerns that there was no heating proposed for the site.

Councillor Klute proposed a motion to include an additional informative outlining that the installation of heating equipment would require a separate planning application. Wording would be delegated to planning officers. This was seconded by Councillor Jackson and carried.

RESOLVED:

That following consideration of the case officer’s report (the assessment and recommendations therein), the presentation to Committee, submitted representations and objections provided verbally at this meeting, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and informatives set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report and the additional informative outlined above; and subject to the prior completion of a Deed of Planning Obligation made under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 securing the heads of terms as set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report as amended above, the wording of which was delegated to officers; and subject to any direction by the Mayor of London to refuse the application or for it to be called in for determination by the Mayor of London.