Agenda item

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

County Councillor S. Jones, local Member for Llanover, attended the meeting by invitation of the Chair and outlined the following points having been contacted by local residents and by Llanarth and Llanover Community Councils:

·         The importance of Condition 6 was key given the visual impact of this development and the detriment it would have towards both neighbours and to visitors to the local area.

·         The hedges play a key role in reducing the visual impact of the development.

·         The Inspector had stated in his report in approving the original application that the scheme would have a major effect on the character of the site itself and on the setting and views from its surroundings but that detrimental effect would be partially mitigated by the boundary hedges which would significantly limit views from close to the site. Therefore, Condition 6 had been imposed and was fundamental to approval of the original application.

·         The Inspector had visited the site and was aware of the highways impact and aware of the layout of the site. 

·         Monmouthshire County Council Officers had also stated that from a highways perspective the conditions did not relate to any highway concerns.

·         Condition 6 is one of a number of conditions that had been agreed as part of the planning consent.

·         If there are concerns regarding highway safety then options need to be looked at between the landowner and the Solar Farm tenants rather than amending a condition that was a fundamental part of the planning consent.

Mr. L. Taylor, objecting to the application, attended the meeting by invitation of the Chair and outlined the following points:

·         Visibility at the junction of Firs Road is very good. Cutting back the hedgerows on Firs Road would not make a difference at that location.

·         There is no safety issue at the junction with Manor Farm, as the visibility splay is very wide.

·         Very little traffic travels along this road.  The Traffic Management statement, that had been undertaken, confirmed this.

·         Condition 6 requires that the hedgerows be cut back to three metres.  The Solar Farm came into operation in June 2016. On the 2^nd February 2017 a complaint had been made to the County Council that the hedgerows had been cut.  After an investigation this matter had been reported.

·         Mr. Taylor had undertaken an investigation and had noted that though some hedges were above the three metre limit, the majority, especially along the access track, had been cut below three metres. Six months later the hedgerows were also cut.  Following a complaint the Enforcement Officer stated that a breach of condition notice had been served on the owners of the site in relation to the cutting of the hedges giving the County Council the authority to prosecute the owners should they again cut the hedges below three metres.

·         In light of this information, a modification of Condition 6 would not be sensible.

·         Condition 6 was imposed to protect the interests of those people who can see the site.  The site is highly visible from many places outside of the vicinity of the site.

·         Local people feel strongly that the assurances that had been given regarding Condition 6 should be adhered to.

The applicant, Mr. R. Foord, attended the meeting by invitation of the Chair and outlined the following points:

·         Turning out of Manor Farm entrance, particularly to the south, with a tractor and trailer has become dangerous because of the lack of visibility over the hedges.  The bonnet of a tractor is much further out in the road than a car before the driver can see any approaching vehicles.

·         Approval of the application to apply a variation to Condition 6 would alleviate this issue.

·         The proposal is to reduce the height of the hedge by one metre leaving a two metre high barrier neither walker nor car driver could see over. This will be for a distance slightly longer than that of a football pitch.

·         This is a minor variation to a planning condition based on experience acquired since its introduction.

Having considered the report of the application and the views expressed, it was proposed by County Councillor P. Murphy and seconded by County Councillor M. Feakins to defer consideration of application DC/2017/01449 to a future Planning Committee meeting to allow officers to negotiate with the applicant that there be no reduction of hedge height to the north side of the access and agree to the reduction of the existing hedge to two metres to the south side of the access on the proviso that there is a second hedge planted behind for the length of the reduced hedge height in front of the compound fence which can be maintained at three metres high, once matured.

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

For deferral               -           14

Against deferral        -           0

Abstentions               -           0

The proposition was carried.

We resolved to defer consideration of application DC/2017/01449 to a future Planning Committee meeting to allow officers to negotiate with the applicant that there be no reduction of hedge height to the north side of the access and agree to the reduction of the existing hedge to two metres to the south side of the access on the proviso that there is a second hedge planted behind for the length of the reduced hedge height in front of the compound fence which can be maintained at three metres high, once matured.