MINUTES of the Extra-ordinary Parish Council meeting held in the School, Back Lane, on Wednesday 28 August 2013 commencing at 7.30pm.
PRESENT Cllr R Porter, Chairman.
Cllrs J O’Keefe, C Moore, M Turner, R Richardson and Clerk, S Jones.
24 members of the public attended.
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TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Cllr Citarella, Cllr Gillard and Borough Cllr Pope.
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
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PLANNING APPLICATION 2012/1317/COU – Forest View Nurseries - Change of use of part of the existing horticultural business to a camping and caravan park comprising an area for tents, touring caravans and up to 25 static caravans with ancillary toilet/shower block and maintenance building. Conversion of existing irrigation pond to a fishing pond for use by visitors to the park.
An appeal has been lodged by the applicant following the refusal of West Lancashire Borough Council to grant planning permission at the Planning Committee meeting on 20 June 2013. The details of the appeal will be considered and a decision will be taken on whether to submit further comment to the Planning Inspectorate at Temple Quay, Bristol.
A brief overview of the appeal process and the proposed Parish Council response was presented to Councillors for consideration. It was resolved to submit the comment below to the Planning Inspectorate on 5 September 2013, pending any relevant late information being received from West Lancashire Borough Council and Borough Cllr Pope to ensure consistency in the response to the appeal.
Newburgh Parish Council Comment:
Appeal Ref: APP/P2365/A/13/2201744
Site Address: Forest View Holiday Lets, Back Lane, Newburgh
Newburgh Parish Council makes the following additional points in response to the above appeal:
1 No further very special circumstances have been argued by the appellant. There is still no substantive business case to support the success potential of this particular site. No viable business model has been provided and only generic data are used.
2 The arguments expressed by the appellant to support the lack of harm to the Green Belt (Grounds of Appeal 3.1.1, 3.1.2) illustrate the unattractive elements of the site and environment which serve rather to undermine any business case. These arguments also do not support the case for the site being attractive to the tourist industry.
3 The appellant's claim that Newburgh is a ‘focus for development’ (Grounds of Appeal 2.2.1, 4.0.1) is misleading.
Newburgh is designated as a Rural Sustainable Village in the Local Plan 4.11. This recognises that the village, like several others in the Borough, has some basic facilities and services, as opposed to the Small Rural Villages, and that there may be some limited opportunities for development . However, these facilities are in no way adequate to cater for the number of visitors envisaged in the proposal.
Local Plan paragraph 4.18 refers to opportunities for housing and employment but 'this must be limited to maintain the rural character of such villages '. Paragraph 4.19 says that 'development will except in very special circumstances take place within settlement boundaries'. Newburgh is not a main focus for development in the Local Plan.
4 The appellant claims that the site “is totally bounded by mature landscaping giving impenetrable screening throughout the year”. However, LCC Developer Support Section (Letter to Ann Veevers, WLBC 1 May 2013) requires that the hedging on the visibility splays at the access to the site should be no more than one metre high. This would expose the whole of the front of the site to public view.
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5 The Grounds for Appeal document does not highlight any traffic issues. The Parish Council believes these cannot be ignored in dealing with this case. The Highways Authority has not fully taken into account the dangers of the blind bend on the A5209 which would serve as a main access route (Letter to Ann Veevers, WLBC 1 May 2013). Eye-witness experience of accidents from neighbours and some police statistics indicate a clear hazard.
In addition the traffic generated by the number of caravans would be totally unsuitable for the access lane through the village. The lane has a school and church with frequent on-road parking; it is used by walkers, horse-riders and cyclists; it carries farm traffic and United Utilities vehicles; it serves as a short-cut to and from Burscough; the narrowness on some stretches would make passing impossible if two large vehicles were to meet and it is these stretches that have no footpath. From the Burscough direction the lane also has a narrow, weight-restricted swing bridge.
Finally, Newburgh Parish Council reiterates its objections to this development expressed in its submission to West Lancashire Borough Council. The development represents an unacceptable intrusion into the openness of the Green Belt. Very special circumstances to outweigh the impact on the Green Belt are not demonstrated. There is a traffic hazard and unsuitable access roads. The tranquillity of the area will be disturbed. No clear benefits are demonstrated for Newburgh.
The Council acknowledges the volume of local opposition to the case and urges that the appeal is dismissed.
The Chairman complimented the Planning Group on the work carried out in analysing the appeal documentation and the concise wording of the response.
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ADJOURNMENT OF THE MEETING TO RECEIVE COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
The Chairman adjourned the meeting to allow comments from members of the public.
A resident thanked the Parish Council for commenting against the appeal and asked how long the process was likely to take. It was confirmed that the process may take anything between three and six months before a decision is made.
The Chairman thanked the members of the public for their support and polite conduct at both the extraordinary meeting and the public meeting held the week before.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.45pm.
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