Agenda item

Copies of the following papers attached:-

MEMBERS

Councillor Aitchison and Councillor Small were not present at the beginning of the meeting for consideration of the undernoted application as Councillor Aitchison had declared an interest and Councillor Small had been absent when the initial consideration had taken place.

With reference to paragraph 3 of the Minute of 19 February 2018 the Local Review Body continued their consideration of the request to review the decision to refuse the planning application in respect of erection of replacement dwellinghouse on land west of Glenkinnon Lodge, Peelburnfoot, Clovenfords.  In response to the request by the Local Review Body for further procedure in the form of written submissions, in respect of the  amended site plan (reference 9303.1.02 B), there had been circulated copies of submissions from the Council’s ecology officer; landscape officer; planning officer; objectors; and a response to the submissions from the applicant. Also circulated were copies of all the original papers that accompanied the review. With guidance from the Legal Advisor, Members considered whether certain further matters included in the review documents and certain documents submitted as part of the further procedure constituted new evidence. For the reasons set out in Appendix l to this Minute, Members concluded that the applicant’s explanation of the difference in the Valuation Roll extracts, the newspaper article submitted by two objectors and the two additional tree reports presented by the applicant were pieces of new evidence that did not meet the test under Section 43B of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.  These matters were therefore not referred to in their deliberations.  Members’ discussion focussed firstly on whether there was any evidence that the existing building, which it was proposed to replace, had been a dwellinghouse and secondly whether the proposal constituted a conversion.  Consideration was then given to whether the proposal was related to a building group and whether there was an economic requirement for the development.  Finally Members considered the impact of the proposal on the surrounding woodland amenity and in particular on the trees contained within a Tree Preservation Order.

DECISION

AGREED that:-

(a)        the review could now be determined without further procedure on the basis of the papers submitted and the further written submissions;

(b)          in accordance with Section 43B of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 the review be determined without reference to the new evidence outlined in the paragraph above;

(c)        the proposal would be contrary to the Development Plan and that there were no other material considerations that would justify departure from the Development Plan; and

(d)       the officer’s decision to refuse the application be upheld and the application refused for the reasons detailed in Appendix I to this Minute.

MEMBERS

Councillors Aitchison and Small joined the meeting.