Agenda item

(1)       Mrs Sharon Thompson, Head of Planning Applications Group declared that she had a conflict of interest in respect of this item as her daughter had attended Maidstone Grammar School until the end of the Summer Term in 2019.  She confirmed that she had played no part in the consideration of this application and had delegated responsibility as Head of Planning Applications Group for this case to Mr Paul Hopkins, Principal Planning Officer, lead for community development.   Mrs Thompson then left the meeting for this particular item.

(2)       Mr Paul Hopkins, Principal Planning Officer informed the Committee that his children had been pupils at Maidstone Grammar School and that the youngest of them had left at the end of the Summer Term in 2017.  One of his nephews had also attended the School until the end of the Summer Term 2019.  He confirmed that since his children had left, he had had no direct involvement or personal interest in the School and that there would be no personal benefit to himself or his family if planning permission were granted.   Whilst he would not normally be placed in such a position, the Corporate Director and the Monitoring Officer had advised that, in the absence of a suitable alternative officer with the necessary expertise on community development, he would be able to advise the Committee on this occasion.  The Head of Planning Applications Group had therefore delegated her responsibility for the functions relating to town and country planning and development management matters for Maidstone Grammar School to him.

(3)       Mr Aftab Khan (Amey: Lighting) and Mrs Jenefer Taylor (Amey: Noise) were present to give detailed advice to the Committee on their responses as the Council’s advisors on these matters. 

(4)       Correspondence from Mr C Brockwell, Mr R Davey, Mr J Doody, Mr P Edwards, Mr D Harwood and Mr A Tilbury in respect of the application had previously been circulated to all Members of the Committee. 

(5)       The Principal Planning Officer informed the Committee of the content of correspondence from the Local Members, Mr R H Bird and Mr D S Daley in support of the application.

(6)       The Principal Planning Officer asked the Committee to agree to Mr Bird’s suggestion that the tree-planting Informative should be strengthened so that the applicant was strongly encouraged to plant additional trees as suggested by Amey Landscape.       This was agreed.

(7)       Mr David Ealham addressed the Committee in opposition to the application. Mr Mark Tomkins (Head Teacher) spoke in reply.

(8)      The Committee agreed to the inclusion of an additional Informative advising the Applicants to establish a local liaison group involving local residents.

(9)        The Chairman put the recommendations of the Principal Planning Officer, as amended in (6) and (8) above) to the vote.

Tied 5 votes to 5 with 2 abstentions

(10)     In accordance with Committee Procedure Rule 2.26 (2), the Chairman declared that he was using his casting vote in favour of the recommendations set out in (9) above. 

(11)     RESOLVED that:-

(a)          permission be granted to the proposal subject to conditions,includingconditionscovering  the standard3 yeartime limit; the development being carriedoutin accordance with the permitted details; no developmenttakingplaceuntiltheapplicanthassecureda programmeof archaeologicalfieldevaluationworkinaccordancewitha written specification and timetable to beapproved in writingby the County PlanningAuthority; no  development  taking  place  until  a  detailed  sustainable  surface  water drainageschemehasbeensubmitted for implementation asapproved;  the submissionfor approval of anoperationandmaintenancemanualfortheproposedsustainabledrainage scheme, and its implementation thereafter; no developmenttakingplaceuntila constructionmanagementplan,including lorryrouting,access,parkingandcirculationwithinthesiteforcontractorsand othervehiclesrelatedto construction operationshasbeensubmittedforapproval and implementation thereafter; measures to preventmud anddebris beingtaken onto the publichighway; measures to protecttheexistingtreesduringconstruction; hoursof workingduringconstructionbeingrestrictedtobetweenthehoursof 0800 and  1800 onMondays  to  Fridays  and  between  the  hours  of  0900  and  1300  on Saturdays,with nooperations being on Sundaysand BankHolidays; hoursof useof theArtificialTurfPitchbeing limitedtothosespecifiedinparagraph 29 of the report, including  no  communityuse  or  use of  thefloodlighting  onSundays,  and limitingtheamount ofFriday eveninguse between6.30 pm and8.00 pm to23 occasionsbetween 1Septemberand 31May; nootherexternalplayingfield facilities being in community use at the same time as communityuse of  theATPtakesplace; aNoiseManagementPlanbeing submittedforapproval, includingmeasuresto dealwithexcessivenoiseandanti-social behaviour and being implemented as approved thereafter; detailsof allfencing,includingtheacousticfencingbeingsubmittedforapproval within3 monthsof thedateof this permissionand beingimplemented, maintainedand retained as approved thereafter; detailsof theretainingstructuretothenorthsideof thepitchbeingsubmittedfor approvalwithin3 monthsof the date ofthis permissionand being implemented as approved thereafter; the meshfencingincludingsyntheticrubberinsertsbetweenthepanelsandall postfixings; on sitecar parkingbeingavailableat alltimeswhentheATPisinuse outof school hours; the submission for approval of a communityuse agreementbeforeuse oftheATP commences; lightinglevelsnotexceeding those specifiedwithin the application; lightingbeinginstalledinaccordancewiththesubmitteddetailsand specification unless  otherwise  approved  in  writing  by  the  County  Planning  Authority and checked on site priorto firstuse, with any necessaryadjustments being made; the extinguishmentof floodlightingwhen the pitch is notin use; a hedgeand  treeplanting  scheme  being  implementedas submittedwithinthe first plantingseason and being maintained for a period ofnotless than5 years; ahedgerowmanagementplanbeingsubmittedforapprovalwithin3 monthsof the date ofthis permission; no tree removal taking place duringthe bird breedingseason; the re-levellingof thenortheasternpartof theplayingfieldandits reinstatementin accordance with the submitted details; and the constructionaccessroadbeingremoveduponcompletionof theworks, reinstatedand grass-seeded,with theaccessand droppedkerboff West ParkRoadbeing removed and made good, with the boundaryhedge being reinstated; and

(b)          the applicants be advised by Informative that:-

(i)           theyshouldtakeaccountof the interestsof the RugbyFootball Unionand the English CricketBoard when preparingthecommunityuse agreement;

(ii)          they arestrongly encouragedtoplant additional trees as recommended by AmeyLandscape; and  

(iii)         they should establish a local liaison group involving local residents.