Agenda item

We considered the report of the application and late correspondence which was recommended for approval subject to the conditions outlined in the report.

The local Member for Larkfield attended the meeting by invitation of the Chair and outlined the following points:

·         The football club needs to develop the ground so that it is compliant with the Football Association for Wales’ criteria in order for the club to progress further within its league structure.

·         The club is located within a residential area and needs to take its corporate social responsibility seriously as a good neighbour.

·         There are local concerns regarding its current capacity and its ability to manage match day traffic and traffic related to football tournaments held at the club. The additional proposals have heightened concerns.

·         It had been stressed that the club needed to evidence the steps it will take to manage both onsite parking and off-road traffic. This needs to be undertaken via a Traffic Management Plan and with an active partnership with the Police to avoid additional match day stress on street residential parking. The revised plans for the addition of onsite parking capacity and the development of a Traffic Management Plan goes some way to addressing the concerns of residents. The plan is reliant on properly trained volunteers.

·         The local Member highlighted the Highways Department’s response outlined in the report. It was considered that a review mechanism needed to be established to afford all stakeholders the opportunity to evaluate how successful the implementation of the plan has been and whether further steps such as traffic regulations are required in the future.

·         The Traffic Management Plan should be enacted before the development has been completed to address the traffic stress that already exists.

·         Having reviewed the plans, it looks as if the visual impact of the siting of the two new stands will be limited.  However, it was considered that the Committee needed to assess the siting of the stands for itself before determination of the application.

·         The club needs to find a way of co-existing with residents and ensure that any impact now and in the future is properly managed and mitigated.

The Development Services Manager responded as follows:

·         A response from the Police has not yet been received.

·         Having received comments from the Highways Department it was considered that the scheme is workable and is an improvement on the current situation.

·         The Highways Department is in agreement with the proposed scheme subject to conditions.

·         The condition relating to the Traffic Management Plan commences from the date of planning permission.

·         There are no grounds to object to the proposal based on the level of parking and the provision of a Traffic Management Plan is a vast improvement on the existing situation.

·         Enforcement of any parking issues would be a matter for the Police and the Highways Department to address.

Having received the report, the following points were noted:

·         There is a need to support the Club in its development.

·         The Club is applying retrospectively for an existing stand. It was considered that it would be appropriate to seek the implementation of a Traffic Management Plan with enforcement being addressed via the Police and the Highways Department.

·         An additional condition could not be added to implement a traffic regulation order in the vicinity of the Club as this would be covered via Highways Act legislation and did not fall within the remit of Planning legislation.

The local Member summed up as follows:

·         It is unfortunate that the Police have not yet been able to comment on this application.

·         It was hoped that the County Council could be a facilitator regarding engagement between the Club and the Police to ensure that appropriate training of volunteers is undertaken.

·         The Highways Department has highlighted the current stress on residential streets.  With the expansion of the facilities the stress will be exacerbated unless it is properly managed.

·         A prohibition of parking order or residential parking only might need to be considered and consulted upon should the Traffic Management Plan fail to address the highways issues. 

It was proposed by County Councillor P. Murphy and seconded by County Councillor G. Howard that application DM/2021/01277 be approved subject to the conditions outlined in the report.

Upon being put to the vote the following votes were recorded:

For approval             -           12

Against approval      -           0

Abstentions               -           0

The proposition was carried.

We resolved that application DM/2021/01277 be approved subject to the conditions outlined in the report.