Issue - meetings

This report considers the land availability of specific Council owned sites which are under further investigation by the Local Planning Authority (LPA).  

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Authorise the Head of Property & Regeneration to submit the following Council owned sites to the LPA for consideration as part of the Local Plan process:

a)    Scotts Farm Road

b)   Richard’s Field Car Park

The Committee received a report considering the land availability of specific Council owned sites which were under further investigation by the Local Planning Authority (LPA).  

The following matters were considered:

a)            Nature of report. The Committee noted that the report had been presented for consideration in response to a request from the Local Planning Authority enquiring about the availability of certain sites.

b)            Scotts Farm Road former scout hut. In response to a question from a member, the Chair informed the committee that the former scout’s hut on Scotts Farm Road was in fact situated on Wesley Close. It was noted that this would be incorporated into the response to the LPA.

c)            Scotts Farm Road, recommendation for submission. A member of the Committee identified that the Scotts Farm Road site had previously not been submitted to the LPA for consideration but was now recommended for submission. The member asked for clarification as to the reason for this change. The interim Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration informed the Committee that following a review of the Council’s brownfield sites, officers considered that the site could achieve 5 or more dwellings, which was the threshold required for sites.

d)            Richard’s Field car park. A member of the Committee asked why the Richard’s Field car park site had previously not been submitted to the LPA for consideration but was now recommended for submission. The Chair informed the Committee that following a review of the Council’s brownfield sites, it was considered that the site could potentially be utilised for both residential and car parking use.

e)            Longmead Depot. In response to a question from a member, the Chair informed the Committee that the Longmead Depot was used as the storage location for the Council’s waste and recycling collection vehicles.

f)             Cox Lane Community Centre. The Chair informed that Committee that the leases for Cox Lane GP Surgery and children’s nursery  expired just before the completion of the Local Plan period, in 2038. It was considered that for the operational certainty of the surgery and nursery that the site should not be submitted for inclusion at the present time. It was noted that the Local Plan was reviewed every 5 years, and the inclusion of the site could be reviewed in the future.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously was resolved to:

(1)      Authorise the Head of Property & Regeneration to submit the following Council owned sites to the LPA for consideration as part of the Local Plan process:

a)    Scotts Farm Road

b)   Richard’s Field Car Park