Issue - meetings

Erection of restaurant/café/bar, six guest rooms, exhibition/interpretation room, WCs, terrace, car parking and ancillary accommodation at Victoria Tower, Castle Hill, Lumb Lane, Almondbury, Huddersfield.

Ward affected: Almondbury

Contact: Nick Hirst, Planning Services

Application approved (delegated to officers).

The Committee gave consideration to Application 2024/93494.

Under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 37, the Committee received representations from Linda Beever, Janine Riley, Martin Kilburn, Gillian Starling, Mike Waters, Ann Denham, Donna Wright, John Mitchell and Barbara Lockwood (local residents), Indy Thandi (applicant) and Malcolm Sizer (applicant’s agent).

Under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 36(3), the Committee received a representation from Councillors Munro and Cooper.

RESOLVED –

1)    That authority be delegated to the Head of Planning and Development to approve the application, issue the decision notice and complete the list of conditions.

2)    That authority be delegated to the Head of Planning and Development to secure a S106 Agreement to cover (i) sustainable transport - measures to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport, including the submission, approval, and implementation of a Travel Plan, and monitoring fees of £10,000 (ii) public benefits package of obligations to provide certainty that the identified public benefits are delivered, including confirmation of the arrangement and agreement of funding for the development to take place and reassessment clauses, after a given time, of the business case and (iii) management - implementation of a management plan for the exhibition/interpretation room and WCs (including the securing of public access without charge), and management of any new infrastructure (including surface water drainage until formally adopted by the statutory undertaker). 

3)    That, pursuant to (2) above, in circumstances where the S106 Agreement has not been completed within three months of this decision, the Head of Planning and Development shall be authorised to consider whether permission should be refused on the grounds that the proposals are unacceptable in the absence of the benefits that would have been secured, and would therefore be permitted to determine the Application and impose appropriate reasons for refusal under delegated powers.

4)    That the draft conditions, as set out at Paragraph 12 of the report, be noted.

A Recorded Vote was taken in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 42 (5) as follows;

For: Councillors Homewood, Scott and Sokhal (3 votes)

Against: Councillors Armer, Lee Richards and A Pinnock (3 votes)

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 42(2), the Chair applied their entitlement to a casting vote, and voted in favour of approving the application.