Agenda item

Detail of Officer Report

Response to a Major Planning Application within Stroud District Council – Land at Whaddon.

Cllrs Dee, Morgan, Evans, and Campbell took no part in the discussion or voting on the item and recused themselves from the Chamber after public speeches made by Cllrs Morgan and Campbell as Ward members.

Officer Report

The Planning Policy Manager presented the report, which sought Planning Committee approval to make a response to a planning application in Stroud District Council’s administrative area for development of land at Whaddon.

Public Speeches

The Vice-Chair addressed the committee in opposition to the application as the Ward Member for Grange.

He stated that the application should be refused and that he supported the Planning Policy Manager's recommendation on the following grounds:

·       While large-scale developments were sometimes necessary to meet housing demand, the current application did not adequately address the numerous infrastructure concerns, such as hospital placements, traffic, school placements, green open spaces, etc.

·       The impact on the Highway Network would be more than substantial.

·       There were already issues surrounding traffic in the locality; should Stroud District Council grant consent to the application, this would substantially worsen.

The Vice-Chair further noted that he believed that the report should make reference to the impact the application would have on Grange Road, as well as St Barnabas Roundabout and the wider highway network which was mentioned in the report.

Councillor Campbell addressed the committee in opposition to the application as Ward Member for Tuffley.

She stated that the application should be rejected on the following grounds:

• She, Councillor Dee, former Councillor G. Dee, and other residents of Tuffley strongly opposed the application.
• There would be a significant increase in traffic.
• The application would negatively impact the area's infrastructure.
• The roads were already congested; approving the application would exacerbate this issue.
• It may increase the risk of flooding.
• The acceptance of the application would lead to a loss of amenities, views, and tranquillity around the local churches.
• Even with improvements to St Barnabas Roundabout, the scheme would still not be viable."

Members’ Questions

The Planning Policy Manager responded to a Members’ question concerning whether the Stroud application was currently suspended and whether this was owing to Highways concerns as follows:

·       The Inspector expressed concerns over the impact of growth to the south of Gloucester and proposed allocations in nearby areas, such as Sharpness, with the impact on Junctions 12 and 14 of the M5 and other roads. In February 2024, Stroud District Council received a letter from the Inspectors, confirming a 7-month pause to allow for the preparation of additional evidence, followed by a 3-month consultation period.

The Highways Officer responded to Members’ questions concerning whether there would be changes to junctions at Eastern Avenue, Cole Avenue and the junctions along those roads as well as St Barnabas roundabout, should the application receive consent as follows:

·       There was a scheme proposed to make improvements to the St Barnabas roundabout. However, the application was not advanced enough to indicate whether improvements would be needed at other junctions in the locality. Highways would investigate the application thoroughly and produce trip generation and other modelling data for such decisions.

Members’ Debate

The Chair stated that he believed that the proposed response from the City Council was fair. He added that he had concerns about the application and supported the response. He also stated that he wished to include the amendment suggested in the Vice-Chair's representation, which was to add Grange Road as an area that would be significantly impacted if the application were granted consent.

The Chair moved, and Councillor D.Brown seconded the Officer’s recommendation, with an additional amendment to mention Grange Road as a road that would its highway network adversely affected should the application receive consent.

RESOLVED that the response to the planning application provided at Appendix 3 of the Officer report be approved and submitted to the case officer at Stroud District Council with an amendment to mention Grange Road.