Address:       Manor Farm, High Street, Eyeworth, Sandy, SG19 2HJ

Conversion of existing farm yard barns to create 4 dwellings, with associated landscaping.

Applicant:     Mr M Lee & Mr Roger Lee

The Committee had before it a report regarding Planning Application No. CB/17/05567/FULL for the conversion of existing farm yard barns to create four dwellings with associated landscaping at Manor Farm, High Street, Eyeworth, Sandy, SG19 2HJ.

In advance of consideration of the application the Committee’s attention was drawn to additional consultation/publicity responses, additional comments and additional/amended conditions as set out in the Late Sheet.

In advance of consideration of the application the Committee received representations from an objector to the application and the applicant’s agent under the public participation scheme.

A Member sought clarification from the objector on how many of the 35 local homes he represented in addition to his own.  In response the objector stated that he represented 6 and that others who supported the application had a vested interest in it through being landowners, relatives or friends.  He stated that the view from within the community was that 6 was quite a large number.  The Chairman referred to comments he had made earlier in the meeting with regard to the relative lack of importance that could be attached to the simple number of those either for or against an application.  The Member responded that he had sought a context given the objector’s claim that the rest of the community felt the development to be unsuitable.

Another Member referred to the objector’s comments regarding the absence of local services and sought clarification from the objector on how the existing residents managed.  Following an earlier claim by the objector that his property would be overlooked by a cathedral style window in Plot 3 the Member also asked for clarification on what windows on the adjacent wall of 2 Sutton Road faced Plot 3.  In response the objector first stated that Eyeworth had become a small commuter hamlet.  He then advised that a letter had been sent by the Council in April 2017 to the developers stating that the latter should seek to use the site for industrial purposes.  The objector stated that no effort had been made to do so.  With regard to overlooking the objector stated that his bathroom and kitchen would be affected.  From his kitchen he would also be able to see the bedrooms in the stable conversion which was on his boundary wall.  He stated that he was not willing to give permission for builders to carry out any related work from within his land.  The objector added that his living room and kitchen area at the back of his property would also be overlooked.

The objector then referred to photographs taken by planning officers on separate occasions and expressed disappointment that these had been omitted from the slides shown.  He felt that they would have been relevant as they would have shown how his living room would be overlooked by the cathedral style window.  At the request of a Member he identified the position of his living room window on the site plan.  The objector also pointed out that the plan failed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9