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Councillor Davidson declared a Disclosable pecuniary interest in application 231889 as the applicant and left the meeting prior to the start of the item and did not take part in the debate or vote.
The Committee considered an application for the demolition of an agricultural building and erection of replacement building for Class E (f) – Day Nursery. The application was referred to the Planning Committee as the applicant was an elected Member, Councillor Robert Davidson.
The Committee had before it a report and Amendment sheets in which all information was set out.
James Ryan, Planning Manager, presented the application to the Committee and assisted the Committee in its deliberations. The Committee were shown that there had been a previous application on the site for an office building and that the application before them and the conditions recommended took into account the impact on the listed building that was in the immediate vicinity, this included the use of black stained feather edged timber weatherboard which had been requested by the Historic Buildings and Areas Officer. It was further noted as detailed in the Amendment Sheets that the landscaping conditions had been added to ensure that there was a degree of visual softening of the building. The Planning Manager concluded by detailing that the provision of electric vehicle charging points was calculated as one charging point for every ten spaces on site and that the officer recommendation was for approval as detailed in the report.
The Committee debated the proposal on the issues including the materials that would be used on the building and the possibility of concrete weatherboarding. It was noted by the Democratic Services Officer that a sample of the concrete weatherboarding was being handed round by Members and asked that an assessment of the material be made by the Planning Manager. The Planning Manager advised the Committee that the boarding was a concrete material with faux wooded patterning.
Members continued to debate the proposal regarding the materials and questioned why a previously built building in the immediate vicinity had been built with the concrete weatherboarding and not the black stained feather edged timber. Simon Cairns, Joint Head of Planning responded to Members questions detailing that the request for the black stained feather edged timber was directly associated with the immediate context of the Listed Heritage Asset to preserve and enhance said context. The Committee heard that the intervening distance between the Listed Farmhouse building and the previously built building would have been a factor when taking into consideration the materials that were conditioned.
Members continued to debate the use of materials on the buildings and whether there were enough electric car charging spaces on the site.
RESOLVED (FIVE votes FOR and ONE vote AGAINST) That the application be approved as detailed in the officer recommendation.