Wednesday 14 August 2019
This morning, Wednesday 14th August, the Development & Planning Authority held an open planning meeting regarding application FULL/2017/0995 - Domarie and Avondale Vineries.
The application requested a "change of use of horticultural buildings, glasshouse and land to south-east of site to form 15 storage units and 2 open yards. Undertake landscaping. (Revised scheme)"
The responsible planning officer opened the meeting with a presentation of the application before representations were heard from members of the public. A total of 12 representations were heard - one of these combined the views of two parties. The main concerns raised by nearby residents related to the character of the area, traffic and road safety and the impact on the amenity of neighbouring properties.
The Authority Members were then given the opportunity to ask questions of the planning officers and the Senior Traffic Services Officer. Within this, clarification was sought regarding road safety, how the proposed conditions would be enforced, maximum vehicle movement on the site and satisfactory mitigation of potential noise issues.
Members of the Development & Planning Authority voted to defer the decision on the application by a majority - two members to one. It should be noted that, due to maternity leave, Deputy Oliver was not in attendance. Both Deputy Lester Queripel and Alderney Representative Snowdon felt that additional information relating to vehicular access to the site and traffic safety was required before a decision could be made.
By deferring the application, the Authority has suspended its decision on the application until further information (as required by the Authority) has been obtained.
A deferral letter has been sent to the applicant's agent, informing them of the deferral. The Development & Planning Authority have asked that further information is provided in respect of using Route Militaire as an alternative entry and exit and the number of vehicle movements on the sites. In addition to this, the Authority has asked that the design of the access on Oatlands Lane is revised to demonstrate that vehicles using the access do not encroach onto the bicycle contraflow and pedestrian path. The Authority anticipate that a decision on the application regarding Domarie and Avondale vineries will be made within the next 8 weeks. This decision will be made within a normal, scheduled meeting of the Development & Planning Authority, once the information has been provided by the applicant. The final decision notice will be published online at http://planningexplorer.gov.gg/portal/servlets/ApplicationSearchServlet and all those that have made a representation will be notified of the decision.
As mentioned in the meeting, the ongoing enforcement case will be held in abeyance pending the Authority's decision.
Deputy Dawn Tindall, President of the Development & Planning Authority, said:
"The Authority understand that the decision to defer may be frustrating to some as this process has been ongoing for some time. However, safety of all road users, including cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders, was a significant concern raised by the majority of representors. Therefore, it was agreed that further information would be requested from the applicant to enable a more informed decision to be made.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those that came to the open planning meeting this morning, especially those that made a representation. The Authority greatly value the views of the community and that is why it was felt that this extra information is required before a final decision is made to ascertain if it can address the concerns raised."
