Saturday 17 November 2012

Talbot Planning application - the back story

In January this year, an Application was submitted to "Convert the former barn and stable into a self-contained dwelling" - 12/00161/FUL
The Parish Council submitted the following :-
"Following some discussion the Council resolved that the application be supported as the Inn provided a valued sustainable village facility. However it was supported on the condition that the former barn/stable is regarded as an annex to the Talbot Inn and therefore cannot be sold separately. Concerns were raised about the adequacy of parking space and open space available to the annex property."
This was interpreted by the Planners and our Shropshire Councillor as a vote supporting the Application - the part "on the condition that . . . ." was not taken into account. The Application was approved by Shropshire Council as presented. This application included some "amenity space" (garden) and two car park spaces - appropriate for a free-standing residential property of that size.

This history is all available on the Planning Web Site :- http://planningpa.shropshire.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LXP8TQTDF0000

It is important to recognise that the Parish Council are "consultees" on Planning matters - the decision rests with Shropshire Council as the Planning Authority.
Suffice to say, the Parish Council were quite disappointed that our "on the condition that . . . . " had been missed.

More recently, the Parish Council were advised that further applications were being prepared - the Applicant has attended several Parish Council meetings to keep us abreast of intentions.
This resulted in the submission of three further Applications:-


12/04127/LBC >> Conversion of former barn and stable into self contained holiday home (Amendment to consented scheme 12/00161/FUL & 12/0162/LBC) - http://bit.ly/W2X00R

12/04145/OUT >> Outline application for the erection of detached guest accommodation - http://bit.ly/W2XrbM

12/04144/FUL >> Erection of three residential dwellings, associated landscaping and carparking - http://bit.ly/W2XUdR

The first of these was a proposed amendment to the Approval gained earlier in the year regarding the former barn/stable. It modified the use of the building to be a self-contained holiday let accommodation, tied to the Pub. Broadly in line with the Parish Council objective, and reducing car park space from 2 to 1, and substantially reducing "amenity space". This application was considered by the Parish Council at a scheduled meeting on Monday 12th November, and we commented as follows:-
Ruyton XI towns Parish Council agreed to support the application providing the development of the property was tied to the business of the Talbot Inn and could not be sold off separately. The Council considered that this should be a condition of the planning permission.
The second Application is "Outline application for the erection of detached guest accommodation associated with the Talbot public house to include access, landscaping and scale" - a detailed Application needs to follow. The Outline Application describes the size of the proposed development and its purpose. The proposal is that the "block" will contain B&B rooms to complement the existing B&B rooms above the Pub. They are NOT self-contained and rely on the Pub for "services". The B&B Rooms and the associated car park are ALL contained on the grass area and do not encroach on the existing Car Park. The idea is to make the Pub more sustainable as a business.
The Parish Council resolved to comment as follows:-
Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council agreed to support the application in principle as the application was considered to be a general extension of the Talbot Inn?s business activities providing that the property was tied to any future sale of the Talbot Inn. The Council considered that this should be a condition of the planning permission.
The third Application was for the "Erection of three residential dwellings, associated landscaping and car-parking."
Again, the whole development (including 5 car park spaces and amenity space) is restricted to the grass area - beyond the existing kerb.
This was discussed by the Parish Council on 12th November and the Council resolved to Object to this Application for a variety of reasons.
The Agent and Architect for the Applicant had been present at the meeting (all Parish Council Meetings are Public) and had listened to the concerns raised. Before our Clerk had submitted our response the Applicant submitted a modification to the proposal, changing one of the homes from a small open-market property for sale into rented accommodation at a below-market rental so that it could be considered as "Affordable Housing". There is a long letter that describes the proposed change in detail, but Shropshire Council has been unable to "load" the letter to the Planning Web Site for technical reasons - the web site has been broken for several days. However, the Planners advise that the change should be considered as "material" (that is, of enough significance to warrant further consideration) and also that the letter is "valid" (that is, considered by them to now form an official part of the Application)
In consultation with our Clerk, I have concluded that we therefore need an "Extraordinary" Parish Council Meeting to consider this change. I have authorised the Clerk to call this meeting for Monday 19th November at 7:30pm in the Memorial Hall (as usual) A Notice and Agenda has been published.

The Agenda can be viewed on the Notice Board (or here:- rxit.org.uk/PCagenda.pdf )

To help Parishioners understand the proposed changes (and recognising that the Planning Web Site has been broken) I have published the letter here:- 
rxit.org.uk/PubLetter.pdf

The email from the Planning Officer that formally acknowledges receipt of the letter is here:- rxit.org.uk/Planningemail.pdf

Hope this gives you the full story - sorry it's so complicated! If anyone wants to volunteer to consider such matters in the future, may I remind you all that there is an election to form a new Parish Council next May.

Extroardinary Public Meeting to discuss the Talbot Planning Application
Monday 19th November, 7.30 in the Memorial Hall

Colin Case
www.ruytonxitowns.org.uk
Tel: +44 1939 260628
Mobile: +44 7860 904006
Fax: +44 872 115 8730
--   Yoland Brown  Brownhill House B&B, Ruyton XI Towns, nr. Shrewsbury SY4 1LR  ShACC - Shropshire Alternative Car Club  www.eleventowns.co.uk  www.eleventowns.com  www.ShACC-uk.org  Tel:  01939 261 121       Fax:  01939 260626