LEVENS PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting held in the Levens Institute
on Monday 12 September 2011 at 7:30
Present: R Mason (Chairman), J Watson (Vice Chairman), C Hammond, S Bagot, D Martin, H Burrow, R Atfield, J Watson, County Cllr J Bland and A Kerr (Clerk) 22 members of the public
141/11 To receive apologies for absence
None
Resolved that the apologies be noted.
142/11 To authorise minutes of meeting held on 12 July 2011
Resolved that the Chairman sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2011 as a true record.
143/11 To receive any declarations of interest in items on the Agenda
Item 145/11 Cllr Mason declared a personal interest in planning app SL/2011/0045 and RN680L
Cllr Bagot declared a prejudicial interest in planning app SL/2011/0045 and RN680L
Item 146/11 Cllr Mason declared a personal interest in land site RN680L
Cllr Bagot declared a prejudicial interest in land site RN680L
Cllr Hammond declared a personal interest in land site RN291 and a prejudicial interest in land EN45
Cllr Burrow declared a personal interest in land site RN291
144/11 Adjournment of meeting to receive any matters from the public
Cllr Watson took over as chairman and read out the original letter that the Parish Council sent to SLDC Planning in March 2011. He reported that the planning application has been resubmitted, the Parish Council had a site visit to High Sampool and that a petition has been circulated in Levens. He then advised that he would follow SLDC Planning Committee procedure for individuals to speak for a certain length of time.
Mr Winter (Planning consultant from PFK Planning) spoke on behalf of the residents at High Sampool, he gave comments on the impact the building would have on the environment and the visual impact. He advised that the building would be built too close to dwellings and whilst the need for further egg production is noted the siting of this building is inappropriate. He reported that 338 people have signed the petition and he asked the Parish Council to oppose the planning application.
Mr Schofield (resident of High Sampool) spoke of his concerns of how this would affect the outdoor life of his family with the building being so close to his home and advised that the site is no longer a working farm.
Mr Carey (resident of High Sampool) advised that there has been flooding in the surrounding area recently making roads impassable. He also advised the Parish Council to object as the building is not suitable to the surrounding landscape.
Mr J Mason (applicant) addressed issues from the notice that has been put up in Levens, he advised of extra tree planting, how the manure would be dried which means that it doesn’t smell and that the only time it would smell would be when it was spread over land but only for 2-3 days and this would happen 3 times per year. He asked the Parish Council to support the application.
Ms A Jones (Planning consultant on behalf of the applicant) who advised that the Environment Agency have no issues in regards to flooding, a noise assessment has been done and the fans are now situated 160m from the edge of the building, they only work when the temperature rises
Other comments from the public included:
Farms need to be supported, do we want to import more food.
Questions about manure were asked and the applicant spoke in detail about how the manure would be stored
Support was given to residents who are objecting to the planning application.
S Bagot reported that Levens Hall is quite close to the farm but will not be affected by it.
145/11 Planning Application SL/2011/0067 High Sampool – Erection of poultry unit and manure store
Cllrs Bagot and Mason left the room.
Councillors discussed the following:
Odour – Cllr Martin reported that he had visited a poultry unit similar to the proposed one and the only smell was inside the building came from chickens not manure.
Egg production – Cllr Atfield spoke of the importance of egg production in the UK when new rules being in January 2012.
Cllr Hammond said that the Parish Council should be not be concerned with what happens inside the building.
Cllr Watson then asked if anyone wanted to object to the application – no one did
Cllr Watson proposed that the Parish Council recommend to SLDC that the application be approved subject to expert input on the risk of flooding, Cllr Thacker seconded this. A vote was then taken by members, the results were as follows:
3 for
0 against
3 abstained
A vote was then taken on whether to send the same letter as last time with the results as follows:
2 for
4 against.
The Parish Council vote was inconclusive for recommending approval of the planning application. The clerk will respond to SLDC with points covered tonight and results of the voting.
146/11 Local Development Framework – Site Allocations
a) Cllr Burrow gave a report on the meeting held with Dan Hudson from SLDC
b) Cllr Mason opened the meeting for the public to speak:
Allan Steward spoke on behalf of the residents group and advised that the Parish Council should not discuss sites at this stage.
c) Thanks were given to Mr Steward and the residents group for their hard work in preparing the survey in such a short time, thanks to PV Dobson for printing the survey.
d) No discussion on individual sites took place - Cllr Burrow will compose comments which will be finalised at tomorrow nights meeting.
147/11 Matters of information and agenda items for the next meeting
Consultation on National Planning Policy
Agree comments on Local Development Framework
148/11 Date of next meeting
The next meeting of the Parish Council will take place on Tuesday 13 September 2011 at 7:30pm in the Methodist Meeting Room. The meeting closed at 9:28pm.
Signed……………………………………………………….Date…………………
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