Agenda and minutes

Cllrs Blunden, Glass and Olliff-Cooper.

To note any declarations of interest made by members in connection with an agenda item.  The nature of the interest must also be specified.

Members are asked to discuss any possible interests with Democratic Services prior to the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest in connection with any agenda item.

To note any issues raised during the public participation period.

Please note that the attached procedure will be used for public participation under items 4 & 5.

Mrs Fitzgerald – Applicant, Fleur-De-Lys Mobile Home Park for Minute No 33.

Miss Knight – Resident’s Spokesperson, Fleur-De-Lys Mobile Home Park for Minute No 33.

Ms Whaley - Applicant’s Representative, Westwood & Glendene Mobile Home Park for Minute No. 34

Mr Watson - Resident’s Spokesperson, Westwood & Glendene Mobile Home Park for Minute No. 34

Mr Sedgewick - Resident’s Spokesperson, Westwood & Glendene Mobile Home Park for Minute No. 34

To consider the proposed new salary band for the posts of Executive Heads.

The Committee considered the proposed new salary band for the posts of Executive Heads as part of the introduction of a new senior management structure following a review undertaken by the Chief Executive. 

A full report on the proposed new structure was considered by the Cabinet on 2 December 2015.

The Committee heard that an independent pay consultant had undertaken a benchmarking exercise to establish the pay level for the new posts. The Committee was of the view that the salary bands were appropriate and reflected the market median.

RECOMMENDED:

That the following new salary bands for the posts of Executive Heads be approved as follows: -

£71,817

£73,906

£76,076

with the following two additional spine points available on an annual review basis to recognise exceptional performance:

£78,308          

£80,604

To consider the application to vary the site licence at Fleur-de-Lys Mobile Home Park, Lymington.

The Committee considered an application for the amendment of the site licence conditions to enable the placing of an additional home on the site at Fleur-de-Lys Mobile Home Park.

The current site licence condition 1(a) provided that the total number of residential caravans on the site should not exceed 11 at any time. There were currently 11 occupied caravans on the site.  The application requested an alteration to the site licence conditions to provide that the total number of caravans on the site does not exceed 12 at any time. The application also sought an amendment to condition 3 of the site licence, reducing the permitted separation distance between caravans from 6 metres to 5.25 metres.

A letter from the applicant’s Solicitors, Tozers, had been circulated to the Committee in advance of the meeting. The letter set out the Applicant’s case and was read out in full by the Chairman and circulated to all parties present for their consideration.

The applicant, Mrs Fitzgerald briefly addressed the Committee following submission of the letter. Mrs Fitzgerald said that since purchasing the site, various steps had been taken to improve the general condition of the site, such as obtaining the necessary electrical certificate as well as improving the drainage. With reference to the loss of parking space for plot number 14, she referred to the fact that the resident of number 14 currently did not have a designated parking space, and often parked on the gravel open space by her mobile home. The proposed application would however give plot 14 a designated parking space. Mrs Fitzgerald referred to the fact that Hampshire Fire and Rescue had not objected to the proposal nor expressed concerns.

Miss Knight, speaking on behalf of the residents of Fleur-de-Lys Mobile Home Park, addressed the Committee. Miss Knight said that residents of the site strongly opposed the application for the siting of an additional caravan on the following grounds: -

·       The proposal would restrict the entry (and egress) to the park to 3.7 metres. This would restrict the view of motorists increasing the chances of potential motoring accidents on the site.

·       The proposed 3.7 metre distance from the proposed home to that of current plot number 4 could mean that vibrations from traffic concentrated nearer to plot 4 and the new home could put undue pressure on the integrity of the homes resulting in structural damage. Members were reminded that the mobile homes were made of wood, not steel construction.

·       The 3.7 metre path between the proposed home and plot number 4 was illogical and impractical in terms of road usage as it created a narrow entry point to the site. Coupled with the fact that the 8.1 metre distance between the proposed new home and plot 8 would further restrict turning/manoeuvring of larger vehicles, this posed a risk to drivers turning cars on the site, as there would be limited space to manoeuvre and would create ‘blind spots’ for drivers. Residents were concerned at the effect of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

The Committee adjourned for lunch at 11:30 a.m. and resumed at 1:30 p.m.

*Present

Officers Attending:

Ms L Clark, G Nunn, Ms M Stephens, B Stockley and S Stone

To consider the application to vary the site licence conditions in relation to Westwood and Glendene Mobile Home Park.

The Committee considered an application received from Haulfryn Group Limited to vary the licence conditions in respect of Westwood and Glendene Mobile Home park.

The application sought to increase the maximum number of homes on site from 150 to 158, allowing for 8 caravans to be placed onto three distinct areas of the site. The first area proposed was Glendene Green, the second, Westwood Green and the third, the site currently occupied by Westwood bungalow.

Glendene Green and Westwood Green were currently open spaces of grass. Haulfryn Group Limited proposed siting three park homes on each of these locations, and two additional park homes on the site currently occupied by Westwood bungalow.

The Environmental Health Manager advised members that the proposal to place 3 caravans on part of Westwood Green and 3 caravans on Glendene Green would result in a significant reduction in the amount of green open space on the site. When examining the whole area of the site and the green spaces within it, calculations showed that the total area of land currently available for recreational purposes on the site amounted to approximately 6.1% of the total area. The proposed loss of Westwood Green and Glendene Green would reduce the overall recreational land by 3.5% to a total of approximately 2.6%.

The Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 required that when deciding what (if any) conditions were to be attached to a site licence, the Licensing Authority must have regard to the model standard conditions. The current model standards provide that, where practical, 10% of the total area of a site should be allocated for recreational purposes, unless there are adequate recreational facilities within a close proximity to the site.

Members were informed that the nearest recreational space to the site was approximately 0.7 miles on foot.

The Applicant’s representative, Ms Whaley, was in attendance and addressed the Committee. She explained that the application was before the Committee as her clients wished to further develop their business. She pointed out that condition 17 of the current licence stated that “where children live on the site, space equivalent to about one-tenth of the total area shall be allocated for children’s games and/or other recreational purposes”.  As no children lived on site, her clients were not obliged under the current licence to provide 10% recreational space. Furthermore she explained that the Applicant had approached the owner of a neighbouring field, who had indicated that, should the application be granted, he would lease part of his field to the Applicant for recreational purposes. The Applicant had also offered to provide a community hall. For those who would lose their visual amenity through the proposal, the Applicant had offered to buy back their properties and would waive the 10% commission fee usually applied. The Applicant considered that as the two greens could only be seen from within the park, the visual amenity and character of the site would not be compromised. To refuse the application on the basis of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.