Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone and explained the purpose and agenda for the meeting, which was to discuss any areas of concern relating to the Planning and Transportation Service.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22nd April, 2004 were agreed as a correct record.

(1)   Minute No. 3 – Woodlaithes Village Development, Bramley and Sunnyside

The representatives of Ravenfield Parish Council asked the Borough Council to undertake a further traffic impact assessment in the event of the developer making application to construct additional residential dwellings within this development.

(2)   Minute No. 4 - Proposed Link Road – Woodhouse Mill Recreation Field

The Borough Council was currently preparing a preferred route for this link road which would serve the new developments at Waverley. It was anticipated that the preferred route would be submitted to the Government Department for Transport during the Summer, 2005.

The Parish Councils of those areas affected by the link road would be notified of the outcome of the public consultation exercise and of the details of the preferred route. It was also noted that the road near to the Orgreave coking plant would be reinstated after completion of the restoration of the coking plant site.

(3)   Minute No. 5 - Wm. Morrison Supermarket – Spare Land at Catcliffe

The meeting noted that, although an application for planning permission had been received by the Borough Council in respect of this spare land at Catcliffe, the application had subsequently been withdrawn.

(4)  Minute No. 10(e) – A57 Worksop Road at Lindrick Dale

The Borough Council would be implementing a road safety scheme along the length of the A57, from the Red Lion Hotel at Todwick to Anston.

(5)  Minute No. 10(e) - B6059 Sheffield Road, South Anston

The Borough Council would not be implementing traffic calming measures on this highway, because there were insufficient amounts of vehicular traffic to justify expenditure on such a scheme.

(6)  Minute No. 10(f) – School Road, outside WalesPrimary School

The Borough Council would be implementing a road safety scheme at School Road, outside WalesPrimary School, leading to Wales square.

The meeting welcomed Mr. Phil Turnidge, Senior Planner with Rotherham MBC, who gave a presentation about the Local Development Framework.

The presentation and subsequent debate included reference to these issues:-

-        the statutory requirement for the Local Development Framework, as contained in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004;

-        the statutory Development Plan is to comprise both the Regional Spatial Strategy and the Local Development Framework;

-        the Plan will regulate development and land use, in the public interest;

-        the Local Development Plan will replace the former Unitary Development Plan (UDP), although some of the UDP policies will be retained;

-        the principal themes of the Local Development Framework were:-

         -        sustainable development

         -        spatial planning approach

         -        community involvement

-        the main Development Plan documents were:-

         -        Local Development Scheme (LDF Project Plan)

         -        Statement of Community Involvement (Participation Plan)

         -        core strategy and policies

         -        site specific allocations

         -        proposals map

         -        area action plans

-        the new spatial planning approach will exceed the existing approach of land use planning;

-        the LDF performance will be linked to the Planning Delivery Grant which Central Government allocates to local planning authorities to improve performance;

-        details were provided of the timescale for production of the initial round of Local Development Framework documents and also the reporting structure involving the Borough Council and the Local Strategic Partnership.

The Borough Council’s Local Development Scheme, detailing the initial documents to be produced, had been submitted to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister before the due date of 31st March, 2005 and had already received approval from the ODPM.

Copies of the presentation and of the Local Development Scheme and the draft Statement of Community Involvement were made available for Parish Councils.

It was emphasised that the Local Development Framework would continually evolve over time and would be subject to annual monitoring and review.

Phil Turnidge was thanked for his informative presentation.

(Submitted by Woodsetts Parish Council)

Consideration was given to a resolution submitted by Woodsetts Parish Council which questioned the role of the Borough-Parish liaison meetings and suggested that issues could be dealt with at the Area Assembly meetings.

After discussion, it was agreed that the Borough-Parish liaison meetings should continue to take place at intervals of six months. Individual Parish and Town Councils would also continue to be able to request liaison meetings about specific issues relating to their areas.

Consideration was given to the details of the 2005 training programme for the Borough Council’s Planning Board Members.

An invitation was extended to the Members and Clerks of all Parish and Town Councils to attend these training sessions, free of charge. Initially, attendance would be restricted to two representatives of Parish/Town Councils, although more representatives would be able to attend whenever space permitted. Places could be booked by contacting the Borough Council’s Committee Services Section at Grove Road, Moorgate, Rotherham, telephone (01709) 822054.

Discussion took place on the following local issues which were reported by representatives of the Parish and Town Councils:-

(1)   Laughton Common – vehicle speed and street cleansing

The representatives of Thurcroft Parish Council expressed concerns about excessive vehicle speeds along the B6060 highway through Laughton Common. They mentioned the particular dangers of the hump-backed bridge over the railway line at Laughton Common Road and Station Road, near to the junction with Station Way.

Reference was also made to the need for street cleansing to be undertaken more frequently in this area.

The Borough Council representatives replied that (a) the concerns about vehicle speed would be examined in detail; and (b) street cleansing was undertaken in accordance with the Borough Council’s approved schedule for rural areas.

(2)   Vehicle Speeds through small villages

The representatives of Ravenfield Parish Council referred to the updating of Government circular 1/93 entitled “Setting Local Speed Limits”. They asked whether the Borough Council intended to introduce a policy which would ensure that a maximum vehicle speed limit of 30 mph was introduced in all villages in the Rotherham Borough area.

The Borough Council representatives replied that all areas of the Borough were being examined in turn and local road safety schemes were being implemented where necessary. The particular nature of any individual highway and area of roads was specifically examined and, as such, there was no overall policy relating to vehicle speed limits in villages. Highway Authorities had to take account of relevant guidance from Central Government in respect of these local schemes, including the circular mentioned by the Ravenfield Parish Council representatives. The Borough Council was required to consult the South Yorkshire Police when implementing changes to vehicle speed limits on any highway. It was sometimes the case that the Police would not agree with the proposals of the Highway Authority. There were also limitations imposed by the availability of Local Transport Plan funding.

Reference was made to the apparently limited effectiveness of vehicle speed notification signs. There seemed to be a trend of local drivers choosing to ignore these notification signs only a few months after the signs had been installed.

(3)   Applications for Planning Permission and Enforcement of Conditions

The representatives of Anston Parish Council asked about the Borough Council’s policies and procedures for granting planning permission and for enforcing the planning conditions of approved development.

The Borough Council representatives referred to the scheme of delegation whereby 90% of applications for planning permission were determined by Officers, sometimes in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Planning Board. The Planning Board itself would determine the applications for larger and more complicated development. This scheme of delegation was currently being reviewed and a new arrangement had recently been introduced, whereby any application for which five or more objections were received would automatically be reported to the Planning Board for determination.

The Borough Council representatives also referred to the arrangements for the enforcement of planning conditions attached to permissions for development. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

Councillor Gerald Smith thanked the Parish Councils’ representatives for their attendance and closed the meeting at 7.20 p.m.