Address:       74 Church Lane, Arlesey, SG15 6UX

Retrospective: Change of use of existing outbuilding to private gym use comprising 4 no. one-to-one personal training sessions (maximum one person and one hour per session).

Applicant:     Mr R Hall

The Committee had before it a report regarding Planning Application No. CB/17/01525/FULL, a retrospective application for a change of use of an existing outbuilding to private gym use comprising 4 no. one-to-one personal training sessions (maximum one person and one hour per session) at 74 Church Lane, Arlesey, SG15 6UX.

In advance of consideration of the application the Committee’s attention was drawn to additional comments as set out in the Late Sheet.

No representations were received by the Committee under the public participation scheme.

(Note:  At this point in the proceedings Councillor Dalgarno, as a ward Member, sat at the seat allocated to public speakers to address the meeting).

The ward Member stated that he knew the next door neighbours on one side of the applicant, that they had approached him with their concerns and had asked him to call the application in which he had done.  He commented on various issues including:

·         The detrimental impact on neighbours’ amenity in the past as a result of group exercises with loud music.

·         The parking issues which had arisen because of the visiting clientele.  There were local parking restrictions in place including a residents’ parking scheme nearby.

·         The failure to address the relevance of Policy LP HQ1: High Quality Development (Central Bedfordshire Submission Local Plan) mentioned in the officer’s report when the outbuilding was merely a shed.

·         There had been a lack of previous engagement by the applicant with his neighbours and the latter felt that the officers were being misled.

·         That the application represented an inappropriate change of use and he queried how any of the proposed conditions could be policed.

·         That, should the application be approved, a review of what was taking place at the site should be carried out to ensure the neighbours’ amenity was protected.

·         That unless the activity was self-contained and did not impact on local residents then the proposed use was inappropriate.

Clarification was sought from the ward Member regarding the action which could be undertaken should the planning conditions be breached.  The meeting noted various points including that various local residents had contacted the ward Member over the past year regarding the nuisance caused and that enforcement action had been instigated by the latter but had then ceased because the current planning application had been submitted.  The ward Member stressed that the applicant was operating a commercial business and it needed to be treated as such.

(Note: Councillor Dalgarno left the Council Chamber at this point and took no further part in the debate or in the vote on this item).

The Committee considered the application and in summary discussed the following:

·         The recommended conditions within the officer’s report for the control of noise and parking and how they met the concerns which had been expressed.

·         The possible use, by clients of the business, of a nearby public house car park when it was empty.

On being put to the vote 11 Members voted for approval, 0 voted against and 1 abstained.

RESOLVED

that Planning Application No. CB/17/01525/FULL relating to 74 Church Lane, Arlesey, SG15 6UX be approved as set out in the Schedule attached to these minutes.