Present:
Councillor Huw Williams – Chairman
Councillor Georgina Bailey – Vice Chairman
Councillor Jacqui Lea
Councillor Jon Burwood
Councillor Alastair Bayley
Cheshire East Ward Councillor Lesley Smetham
Mrs Brenda Lomas – Clerk
Members of the public : Mr M Kidd, Mr & Mrs J Heywood, Mr S Purdham, Mr T Hayes
Purpose of the Extraordinary Meeting
Cheshire East Council application number 24/0830C – to consider whether prior approval is required for the change of use of an agricultural building to a dwelling house on land off Bank Lane (behind Daintry Hall) for Mr & Mrs D Syson of Yew Tree Farm, North Rode.
- Welcome by the Chairman
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. - Apologies for absence
Councillor Brian Evans
Councillor Richard Edwards - Declarations of Interest
A declaration was made from Councillor Alastair Bayley as being a neighbour to the application site. - Public Participation
A number of residents of the village attended the meeting and provided their views on the proposal / application. - Planning Application 24/0830C
A number of concerns were raised by Councillors and residents as follows:-
a) The application appears as fully registered on the CEC planning portal as of 1st March – but only the application form was available to view. During the meeting, it was found that additional documents had been uploaded – probably only today – including plans, a structural report and a design and access statement. As the views of the PC are required by 10th April – it was felt this was a restricted amount of time for considered views to be submitted. Councillors asked that Cheshire East Council’s planning department be notified of this fact.
b) The application was a little confusing as regards whether further dwellings could be added to the site if it was deemed that prior approval was not required for this particular application.
c) It was discussed whether the agricultural shed is eligible for a type Q change of use under the appropriate planning legislation given that until early 2023 – the structure of the shed was basic – consisting of a timber frame (telegraph poles) and profile metal sheeted sides and roof. It was reported that during 2023, extensive works were undertaken to the inside of the shed to create a metal frame, concrete slab floor and concrete block walls to create a more substantial, permanent structure. It is understood that three phase electric supply has been provided to the shed. It was discussed that the Planning Officer would need to determine if the change was lawful or unlawful and whether the building met the planning criteria.
d) The historical use of the building was discussed. It was stated that whilst the shed had been used some time ago to house cattle – it’s current use appears to to be to house tractors and machinery and to undertake repairs.
e) Concerns were raised in terms of the fact that a significant amount of waste material had been brought onto the field and deposited on the land / field on which the agricultural shed is located. Aerial imagery over the years confirmed this to be the case. It was highlighted that the land user is currently advertising a commercial ‘trailer skip’ business on social media – to collect waste from households and businesses. Waste is brought on to the field and dumped. The outcome is that land height has been raised in places – to up to 5 feet above the original land level. Checks had been made to ascertain whether the land user had a waste carrier / waste transfer licence or whether the land was registered as a waste disposal site – but no authorisation could be found on the Environment Agencies information. The dumping of waste was considered to be a gross misuse of agricultural land.
f) Checks on aerial imagery proved that, in 2002, there was nothing at all on the field. Structures had subsequently appeared including shipping and storage containers along with tractors, machinery and equipment and the piles of waste. A mobile home had been brought onto the site and used as a residence which has been provided with an electric supply, water supply and the internet. In 2022 a track from Bank Lane up to the site was excavated and hard cored.
g) Since July 2020, all the aforementioned changes of use of an agricultural field had been reported to the Planning Enforcement Department by the Parish Council and by the Ward Councillor, Lesley Smetham, It was initially understood, from correspondence received, that enforcement action was to be taken by CEC, however, no recent responses had been received to requests for updates. The Parish Council’s most recent request for an update was made to the Planning Enforcement Department in correspondence dated January 2024.
h) A question was raised by Councillors that at the time that Cheshire County Council / Cheshire East Council had sold the field / land – that there might have been a caveat / covenant in place to restrict residential dwellings on the land.
i) Access to the site was discussed. The application states that there are two entrance routes – one being off Manor Park Road and the other being the unauthorised track off Bank Lane. The Manor Park Road entrance is currently a farm track and would require improvement. Historically, there was a 90 degree bend in the track but the boundary wall belonging to Daintry Hall was often hit/damaged by large trailers associated with the land user. The land user had subsequently straightened the track. Daintry Hall Management Committee felt that the original track should be reinstated. It was considered that the other access to the site onto Bank Lane – should not be used due to the current heavy traffic useage on Bank Lane, narrowness of the road, and being in a location which was close to the single vehicle width ‘pinch point’. The use of that access would create a highway danger.
j) It was discussed that if this agricultural shed could lawfully become a dwelling house – then it could set a precedent in North Rode as there are many poorly constructed sheds in the village. Such changes of use of a number of sheds could significantly alter the character and appearance of the village.
k) Contaminated land is a planning consideration in planning applications. It was discussed whether it was appropriate to create a dwelling house close to an area in which all types of waste had been deposited. Such waste could include oil, fuels, tyres, machinery parts, soil, spoil, concrete and building materials. The run off from contaminated land could result in detrimental health effects to the occupier of the proposed dwelling – and therefore – Councillors considered that the question should be raised with the planning department as regards whether it was appropriate to create a dwelling so close to an unauthorized waste site.
l) The field formally had a single field gate onto Bank Lane. The applicant had widened this to create a double width gateway some time ago.
m) If approval was granted – could the dwelling be subject to an agricultural occupancy condition?
n) Councillors and the residents of the village concluded that provided the change of use was lawful under planning legislation – then there was no objection to the creation of a dwelling on the field.
Any other business
The Chairman provided an update on the plans for the D-Day Commemoration on 6th June 2024 – which will involve a big band playing in the church, food provided by a fish and chip van, the lighting of a beacon at 9pm, the ringing of the church bell and the reading of a proclamation. The cost of tickets was discussed and it was agreed to set the price at £15 to provide a £3 contribution for armed forces causes. The beacon had been inspected and requires to be relocated onto land owned by Daintry Hall. The timber post requires to be replaced at a cost of approximately £350 with the creation of a concrete plinth at approximately £120 and a stainless steel metal socket which will cost approximately £300. Volunteers will do the work to install the beacon. The total cost for the beacon will be approximately £800. It was resolved by Councillors that this should be paid for from Parish Council funds. The clerk advised that there was an additional cost of £30 to the Parish Council for the hire of Daintry Hall for this evening’s meeting – which was also approved.
Dates of the next meetings
The dates of the next two meetings are Thursday 16th May 2024 to include the AGM and the Parish Meeting and Thursday 22nd August 2024.
The meeting closed at 8.10pm.