There was a change of membership for this meeting: Councillor Rindl replaced Councillor Martins and Councillor Dhindsa replaced Councillor Joynes.

There were none.

The minutes of the Development Management Committee held on 8 June 2016 to be submitted and signed.

Copies of the minutes of this meeting are usually available seven working days following the meeting.

All minutes are available on the Council’s website.

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2016 were submitted and signed.

Temporary (5 year) site with storage containers, portable cabins to be used for storage, collection point and office space for refurbishment of WCHT housing stock (kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, windows).

The committee received the report of the Head of Development Management, including the relevant planning history of the site and details of the responses to the application. 

The Head of Development Management introduced the item, explaining that the application was for a temporary (2 year, amended in the update report) site with storage containers, portable cabins to be used for storage, collection point and office space for refurbishment of Watford Community Housing Trust stock (kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, windows).

The total value of the works to be carried out was £15 million, of which around £1.5 million would be spent refurbishing properties in the immediate surrounding area.  The centralised compound offered efficiency savings, and had been proposed following a lengthy search of alternative locations.

Following concerns about the size of the proposed site, officers had produced a more accurate, to scale location map which demonstrated that the 30m x 30m compound would occupy around 10% of the available open space.

Attention was drawn to the update report, which included some clarifications and additional comments.

The Chair invited Mr David Wright from Watford Community Housing Trust to speak in support of the application.   Mr Wright explained that the Trust had undertaken extensive consultation with residents in an effort to mitigate concerns about the proposed compound.  This had included discussions to establish what additional facilities could be provided by the Trust following removal of the compound at the end of the project.

In response to feedback from residents, the Trust had reduced the size of the compound, given firm assurances about spillover parking on surrounding roads and, in the interests of safety, agreed that delivery lorries would not be permitted to reverse out of the compound onto the main road.

It had also been proposed to work with local schools to agree a design for the compound perimeter.

The Chair then invited Councillor Asif Khan, Leggatts ward councillor, to speak to the committee.  Councillor Khan asked the committee to consider the historic design of the area and the importance of the green space to local residents. 

The siting of the proposed compound was contrary to Council policy and was opposed by residents, large numbers of whom had signed a petition which had been submitted to the Housing Trust.

Councillor Khan added that this was not nimbyism.  Local residents were supportive of the refurbishment programme, but were opposed to the use of this site for the compound.  Councillor Khan requested that the Trust seek an alternative location, particularly in light of the welcome reduction in the project length which could make other options more viable.

The Chair invited comments from the committee. 

Members expressed concern about the use of valuable green space in a largely urbanised area for the siting of the compound.  This was an important area of local recreation.  Seeking clarification from the Head of Development Management on the alternative sites considered, it was confirmed that a thorough search had been undertaken by the Trust.  This had concluded that The Dell  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.