Decision details

Planning application 21/00256/FPM - Land to the West of Stevenage

The Chair announced that he had accepted as an urgent item of business an information update that had been circulated to Members of the Committee in respect of the Land to the West of Stevenage planning application, which had been approved by the Committee in December 2021, subject to the completion of a Section 106 Agreement.

For the benefit of newer Members and as a reminder to longer-standing Members of the Committee, the Development Manager reprised the presentation he had given to the December 2021 meeting.  He advised that the development would comprise 1,500 new homes in two phases (390 units in Phase 1 (Detailed) and 1,110 units in Phases 2 – 4 (Outline)), as well as a Neighbourhood Centre, Primary School, Cricket pavilion/pitch, employment units and a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA), together with a variety of green and open spaces throughout the site.  He described the access and egress arrangements for the site and explained that a new bus route through the development would be funded by the developer.

The Development Manager advised that, since 2021, there had been significant changes in the National Planning Policy Framework and the Housing Delivery Test.  Application 21/00256/FPM, together with the associated Section 106 Agreement, had been tested against these changes, and legal advice had been sought.

The Development Manager reported that it had been concluded that the application was still acceptable when measured against current policies and therefore did not need to be re-determined by the Committee.  In view of the scale of the application, the Chair and Vice-Chair had agreed that the matter be placed before the Committee for information.

Following a period of questions and answers, it was RESOLVED that the update on application 21/00256/FPM be noted, and that the approach outlined by the Development Manager be supported.