Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director City Development.

 

The Assistant Service Lead - Development Management (Major Projects) presented the application for the development comprising change of use to golf driving range including construction of an 8 bay and 2 training bay facility incorporating equipment store and car park.

 

The Assistant Service Lead - Development Management (Major Projects) reported that the application had been deferred at the previous meeting of this Committee on 25 May 2023 so that changes to the conditions could be carried out. A Member had also asked if amenity could be improved, taking into account the local community’s concerns.

 

Accordingly, the following revised and new conditions had been agreed with the applicant as set out in the report and detailed as follows:-

 

·         condition 14 had been added to require a Border Management Plan;

·         condition 21 had been added to prevent the use of herbicides etc.;

·         condition 17 (now 18) had been amended to provide opening hours of 9.30am during the week and 10.00am on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank/Public Holidays;

·         condition 13 has been amended to require biodiversity monitoring.;

·         no further condition has been added with respect to noise, as condition five already required a Noise Impact Assessment to be submitted and approved by the Local Planning Authority, and any necessary mitigation measures to be implemented, as recommended by Environmental Health. Sound proofing can therefore be secured through this condition if it is considered necessary.

 

As amenity could cover a wide range of issues it had not been possible to pin down improvements in this regard. The issue of whether public access could be allowed on the site, for example when the facility was not in use had been raised again; however, the applicant had stated that this was not possible for safety, security and insurance reasons. Members were reminded that this has no bearing on whether planning permission should be granted or refused.

 

The original committee report to this Committee on 25 May 2023 was attached as an Appendix which contained an assessment of the salient planning issues that Members were asked to consider when coming to a decision.

 

In respect of lighting in the car park, Members were reminded that this was controlled by condition 19, so no lighting could be installed unless agreed by the Local Planning Authority. The applicant had confirmed that no lighting was proposed in any case.

 

Councillor Begley, having given notice under Standing Order No. 44, spoke on the item. She read statements from Gill Barnes and Phil Wright raising the following points:-

 

Gill Barnes

 

·         340 residents have objected strongly to this application and the way it has been conducted. A seven-five vote rejecting the case officer’s recommendation was called undecided at the meeting of this Committee on 25 May 2023 and deferred by the Chair. The officers offered the Club an opportunity to improve their plans;

·         the Club have been allowed to submit amendments without any consultation. They did not consult with Natural England as it is mandatory for them to be included in all discussions throughout the planning process nor contact made with the RSPB nor the Devon Wildlife Trust;

·         of the seven issues the Club were asked to improve, only one has been completed - the banning of herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers which cause many problems, especially the glyphosate that is in use on Exeter Road but about to be banned by Defra; 

·         the issue of opening and closing times was incomplete but the times to commence were basically as agreed. Weekdays opening is agreed at 9.30 am to avoid the number of cars on the road and for Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays the start is 10.00 am. With no floodlighting at all, the closing times need to be flexible according to the season but this should be discussed further as9.30 pm in the summer months is too late when the adjacent houses have school children and babies trying to sleep. 8.30pm weekday is proposed as a compromise. Weekends and Bank Holidays the times are reasonable at 8.00 pm.;

·         clarification is needed on the timing of ball collecting and grass cutting as it is assumed that it would be in the hour prior to opening time;

·         no border management plan has  been drafted;

·         the monitoring method to ascertain any increase in Biodiversity is not evident;

·         the colour of the actual building has not been confirmed. Interior lighting and the oversized car park are other issues that need addressing, as does the archaeology assessment;

·         there has not been any clarification on noise or the required noise assessment. Under normal circumstances in an area of tranquillity such as this, there is no disturbance at all by noise from humans. It is one of the most secluded fields in the Ludwell Valley because of its lack of access to walkers, runners etc. so the wild life is completely undisturbed. This field provides peace and quiet alongside the adjacent Community Orchard field where there are seats to enjoy this continuous tranquillity. Any noise, however, small can adversely affect wildlife and ecosystems. External amenity spaces are an intrinsic part of the overall design of the Park and Site 53 is one of the most important and should not be changed to accommodate a driving range etc.;

·         the Club chose to use its existing land three years ago when the pond was enlarged and the 18th hole extended by some 60 yards .Previously, the Club sold off two areas of their own land to the same developers, Heritage Homes now Heritage Bricks but under the same ownership. The Club do not need to have a purpose built range to practice;

·         the local residents have also raised concerns over the lack of any archaeological report as there are the remains of a bronze age hut and a cremation pit;

·         the revised Exeter Local Plan will be published later this year. It has retained LS1 which has been referred to as being out of date but will include that policy which the Golf Club believes justifies their application and presence in this Valley Park. The list in the leisure section of the Local Plan on informal recreation does not cover the proposed use of a golf driving range. Informal recreation in any Valley Park is limited and there is no mention of organised sport or any ball games;

·         a Geo Environmental report in 2019 refers to the asbestos contamination within the field and unexploded ordnance.  A thorough investigation by an expert is necessary; and

·         this field must remain as a tranquil peaceful place and remain of landscape value and part of a working farm.

Phil Wright

 

·         clarification is required on times for mowing and ball collection;

·         residents should be involved in border maintenance and landscaping and there has been no consultation on how this can occur;

·         confirmation is required that there will be no exterior lighting of any kind; and

·         most things asked for are included in the recommendations except the most important that the field will be protected from future development.

 

Gill Baker, speaking against the application, raised the following points:-

 

·         this application was first submitted in 2021 and, thanks to the efforts of the planning officers and input from over 400 consultees, it has been revised to achieve a “less worse” impact on this important part of Exeter’s greenspace. But it is necessary to decide whether “less worse” is acceptable and whether this development will have an impact on the biodiversity, landscape and public amenity value of Ludwell and whether any building in the Valley Park is acceptable or whether it is more reasonable for valuable land like this to be strategically ring-fenced as part of our green infrastructure;

·         with the increase in housing development across the city it is increasingly important to expand the area of the city’s valley parks for the common good;

·         it also needs to be decided if this loss of undeveloped greenspace is acceptable and if it is a reasonable development - how can it be ensured that is not just “less worse” but the “least worst”;

·         the Committee is being asked to determine whether the development as described is reasonable within planning terms and also if the applicant will be reasonable in restricting the development to the detail shown in the latest proposal;

·         the development must not be a bit-by-bit return to the original proposal or incrementally become something worse;

·         the scheme has received over 300 objections, is contrary to the Valley Park Masterplan and compromises the city’s Green Infrastructure strategy;

·         the right decision is the one made at the 25 May 2023 meeting. The proposal should be refused and every power should be used to ensure that the proposal is the “least-worse” as possible. This would mean setting strict legal conditions and paring back the development to and absolute minimum; and

·         the integrity of Ludwell Valley Park must be protected.

 

She responded as follows to Members’ queries:-

 

·         there has been insufficient scrutiny of the proposal which requires more consideration before a decision is made in order to protect the Valley Park; and

·         the requirement for a 30 space car park is contradicted by the Club’s statement that only three cars an hour will enter the site and it is anticipated that the use of the car park will grow. The use of grasscrete will disrupt the ecology of the area and its use could lead to purposes other than supporting the Driving Range facility.

 

Will Gannon, speaking in support of the application, raised the following points:-

 

·         since the Planning Committee meeting on 25 May 2023, the case officer has contacted the Club to request amendments to the planning conditions and the Club are happy to confirm full agreement;

·         the focus of the Club is not only about providing sporting facilities for the residents of Exeter but also to highlight its activities in terms of charity and community work as well. The Club has agreed to host a visit from students and teachers from the Exeter Deaf Academy to learn about the different career possibilities on offer at the Club;

·         the Club is very keen to substantially improve the biodiversity of the application site and wish to support the ethos of Exeter City Council in this respect. The Club will also be introducing new well-being functions to the vacant land and be responsible neighbours, as it is at its main site;

·         public access to the land is not currently available and this will continue to be the case in future, mainly due to insurance issues, as well as general safety and security matters; and

·         the Club wants to relocate its Golf Academy to this new site to become its permanent home.

 

He responded as follows to Members’ queries:-

 

·         quiet electric vehicles will be used for maintenance and all maintenance works and ball collections will be undertaken during the opening hours set out in the conditions; and

·        the Club has undertaken consultation with the local residents and will continue to hear any concerns raised as is the case with the existing facility.

 

The Assistant Service Lead - Development Management (Major Projects), in response to Members’ queries, advised that:-

 

·         the proposal accords with Policy CP16 of the Core Strategy, which is more up to date than the Local Plan First Review, and the background text of Policy CP16 confirms that the Valley Park can provide formal as well as informal recreation uses;

·        any additional development such as the provision of berm lighting, as exists on the current facility, would require planning permission;

·        the site layout shows 26 car parking spaces but does not show disabled spaces or cycle parking in accordance with the Sustainable Transport Supplementary Planning Document so it follows the number of spaces will reduce;

·        the car park will be behind the building in views from the publically accessible parts of the Valley Park;

·        an archaeological assessment will need to be undertaken prior to the commencement of the development;

·        a Noise Impact Assessment must be submitted and approved by the Local Planning Authority, and any necessary mitigation measures to be implemented. This requirement was in response to concerns raised by residents. The area is an agricultural field and there have been concerns in the past from residents regarding noise from tractors in the early morning;

·        an additional condition can be added to require a survey of the land to determine the existence of asbestos and any unexploded ordnance for necessary mitigation measures to be undertaken;

·        the public consultation ended prior to the previous Committee on 25 May 2023 and Members at that Committee did not ask for any additional consultation to be undertaken, which would not happen automatically for changes to conditions; and

·        the location of the building and car park will be on land that can be defined as a brownfield development and the rest of the site would be defined as green field.

 

The Director City Development provided the following concluding points:-

 

·         the application had been deferred at the meeting of the Planning Committee on 25 May 2023 in order to request the applicant to consider changes to the application;

·         the application is to be considered in the context of the Core Strategy and not the forthcoming Exeter Plan which is yet to be adopted; and

·         an additional condition in respect of asbestos and unexploded ordnance can be added which can be carried out as a desktop exercise.

 

A Member stated that it was important to balance the needs and concerns of the local community with the wider provision of recreational facilities for the city as defined within the Core Strategy. He noted the measures proposed and agreed by the Club to mitigate the concerns that had been raised.

 

The Chair moved the recommendation for approval including the conditions set out in the original report as amended by the new conditions in the report to this Committee together with an additional condition in respect of asbestos and unexploded ordnance which was seconded, voted upon and CARRIED.

  

RESOLVED that planning permission for the development comprising change of use to golf driving range including construction of an eight bay and two training bay facility incorporating equipment store and car park be APPROVED, subject to the conditions as set out in the report as amended by the new conditions in the report to this Committee together with an additional condition in respect of asbestos and unexploded ordnance.

  

 

The meeting adjourned at 18:20 and re-convened at 18:35.