Address:       Land off St Andrews Way, Langford (nearest postcode

SG18 9QL)

Outline Application for a residential development of up to 32 new homes (all matters reserved except access).

Applicant:     Warden Developments Ltd

The Committee had before it a report regarding planning Application No. CB/18/00432/OUT, an outline application for residential development of up to 32 new homes (all matters reserved except access) at Land off St Andrews Way, Langford. Nearest Postcode: SG18 9QL.

In advance of consideration of the application the Committees attention was drawn to additional consultation/publicity responses and additional comments as set out in the Late Sheet.

In advance of consideration of the application the Committee received representations from Langford Parish Council and an objector under the public participation scheme.

In response to the Parish Councils concerns a Member asked for clarification on reported objections to the application from the Fire Brigade, after discussion it was noted that the comments were not related to the application and related to another matter.

A Member asked for clarification around reported pre-application advice given from Central Bedfordshire Council on previous applications. As the date of this advice was not available and in the past, the Member was advised that the comments must be disregarded.

A Member responded to a request from the Parish Council to be included in S106 consultations, it was noted that the Planning Officer had received a response from the Parish Council and included it within the report. He noted that the Parish Council made no request for provisions within its response. He continued to advise the Parish Council that any suggestions put forward would be taken into consideration when making the S106 agreements. The Parish Council responded that it had engaged with the S106 process for many years, had made suggestions and notified Officers of the lack of facilities within the village. The Member responded that he would ask an Officer to investigate this and respond to the Parish Council directly.

The Chairman commented on concerns raised by an objector. He stated that the value of existing properties and the temporary disruption caused by construction noise and dust cannot be taken into consideration when considering an application.

A Member clarified to the objector that although the layout would not be taken into account when considering the outline application, if Members were minded to approve the application her comments would have been taken on board by Officers to be addressed at the Reserved Matters application.

The Planning Officer responded to concerns raised by the public speakers with the following:

·         It was accepted that there had been substantial growth within Langford in recent years but the Committee must only consider the impact of the application before it.

·         Various agencies and Central Bedfordshire’s own SUDS team had been consulted and no concerns were raised with regard to infrastructure.

·         Health Services had been contacted to confirm if they sought contributions to offset the new infrastructure burden but they had not provided a sufficient response and they had not identified specific projects.

·         Central Bedfordshire Highways had returned no objections to proposed access.

·         In relation to the pre application advice mentioned by the Parish Council, the Officer believed that related to advice given in 2016, however  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32