Agenda item

Solar Canopies.

 

The Principal Planning Officer introduced the report.

 

RESOLVED:

 

 

To GRANT PLANNING PERMISSION subject to the following conditions:

 

1        The development must be begun not later than three years beginning with the date of this permission.

 

2        The development hereby permitted shall be completed in accordance with the submitted documents, received by the Local Planning Authority 21^st May 2026;-

 

Application Forms

Site Location Plan

Block Plan

Elevations

 

3        The development shall be undertaken in the materials identified on the submitted application forms.

 

4        In the event that contamination is found at any time when carrying out the approved development it must be reported in writing immediately to the Local Planning Authority and once the Local Planning Authority has identified the part of the site affected by the unexpected contamination development must be halted on that part of the site.

 

An assessment must be undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Local Planning Authority, and where remediation is necessary a remediation scheme, together with a timetable for its implementation and verification reporting, must be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

 

Reasons

 

1        In order to comply with Section 51 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

 

2        For the avoidance of doubt.

 

3        In the interests of visual amenity and heritage.

 

4        To ensure the development is safe and suitable for use, thereby taking into consideration paragraph 121 of the National Planning Policy Framework and policy LPD7 of the Councils Local Plan.

 

 

 

Notes to Applicant

 

1        The applicant is advised that all planning permissions granted on or after  16th October 2015 may be subject to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Full details of CIL are available on the Council's website.

The proposed development has been assessed and it is the Council's view that CIL is not payable on the development given that there is no net additional increase of floorspace as a result of the development.

 

2        Planning Statement - The Borough Council has worked positively and proactively with the applicant in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework.

 

3        In order to protect and maintain biodiversity in accordance with relevant wildlife legislation, the National Planning Policy Framework, Aligned Core Strategy Policy 17 and Local Plan Policy LPD 18, works shall be conducted in accordance with the following Reasonable Avoidance Measures (RAMS):

 

•         The working footprint will be kept to a minimum.

•         A toolbox talk will be delivered to workers prior to the commencement of works to inform them of the potential for protected species and what to do if protected species are found during works. This should include halting work until a suitably qualified ecologist has been consulted.

•         If any large mammal holes are identified within 30 m of the site, works will be halted until a suitably qualified ecologist has been consulted.

•         Any common reptiles, amphibians or small mammals, such as hedgehogs, found during the works will be carefully moved to a safe, sheltered location (such as the base of a hedgerow) away from the works, using gloved hands.

•         A wildlife sensitive lighting scheme will be employed, both during and post-construction, in compliance with the following guidance: Bats and Artificial Lighting at Night (Institution of Lighting Professionals, 2023), to avoid impacts to foraging and commuting bats and other nocturnal and crepuscular species.

•         Appropriate RAMS will be followed to prevent entrapment of animals in pipes or trenches, such as provision of egress boards for any trenches left open overnight and capping of pipes over 120 mm in diameter.

•         Materials such as netting and cutting tools will not be left in the works area overnight where they might entangle or endanger animals passing through the site.

•         If possible, no stockpiles or piles of vegetation, rubble or soil will be left overnight. If this cannot be avoided, they will be stored raised off the ground or carefully dismantled by hand prior to removal.

•         Building materials should be stored on pallets to discourage wildlife from sheltering within them

•         Concrete should not be left unset overnight. If this cannot be avoided, a suitable barrier should be erected to prevent mammals accessing the concrete.

•         Pollution prevention best practice will be followed during works.

 

 

4        Biodiversity Net Gain

 

The effect of paragraph 13 of Schedule 7A to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is that planning permission granted for development of land in England is deemed to have been granted subject to the condition (biodiversity gain condition) that development may not begin unless:

 

(a) a Biodiversity Gain Plan has been submitted to the planning authority, and

(b) the planning authority has approved the plan.

 

The planning authority, for the purposes of determining whether to approve a Biodiversity Gain Plan, if one is required in respect of this permission would be Gedling Borough Council.

 

There are statutory exemptions and transitional arrangements which mean that the biodiversity gain condition does not always apply. These are listed below.

Based on the information available this permission is considered to be one which will not require the approval of a biodiversity gain plan before development is begun because one or more of the statutory exemptions or transitional arrangements in the list below is/are considered to apply.

 

Statutory exemptions and transitional arrangements in respect of the biodiversity gain condition.

 

1.       The application for planning permission was made before 12 February 2024.

2.       The planning permission relates to development to which section 73A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (planning permission for development already carried out) applies.

3.       The planning permission was granted on an application made under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and

(i)the original planning permission to which the section 73 planning permission relates was granted before 12 February 2024; or

(ii)the application for the original planning permission to which the section 73 planning permission relates was made before 12 February 2024.

4.       The permission which has been granted is for development which is exempt being:

 

Development which is not 'major development' (within the meaning of article 2(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015) where:

i)        the application for planning permission was made before 2 April 2024; 

ii)        planning permission is granted which has effect before 2 April 2024; or

iii)       planning permission is granted on an application made under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 where the original permission to which the section 73 permission relates* was exempt by virtue of (i) or (ii).

 

Development below the de minimis threshold, meaning development which:

i)        does not impact an onsite priority habitat (a habitat specified in a list published under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006); and

ii)        impacts less than 25 square metres of onsite habitat that has biodiversity value greater than zero and less than 5 metres in length of onsite linear habitat (as defined in the statutory metric).

 

Development which is subject of a householder application within the meaning of article 2(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015. A "householder application" means an application for planning permission for development for an existing dwellinghouse, or development within the curtilage of such a dwellinghouse for any purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse which is not an application for change of use or an application to change the number of dwellings in a building.

 

Development of a biodiversity gain site, meaning development which is undertaken solely or mainly for the purpose of fulfilling, in whole or in part, the Biodiversity Gain Planning condition which applies in relation to another development, (no account is to be taken of any facility for the public to access or to use the site for educational or recreational purposes, if that access or use is permitted without the payment of a fee).

 

Self and Custom Build Development, meaning development which:

i)        consists of no more than 9 dwellings;

ii)        is carried out on a site which has an area no larger than 0.5 hectares; and

iii)       consists exclusively of dwellings which are self-build or custom housebuilding (as defined in section 1(A1) of the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015).

 

Development forming part of, or ancillary to, the high speed railway transport network (High Speed 2) comprising connections between all or any of the places or parts of the transport network specified in section 1(2) of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013.

 

"original planning permission means the permission to which the section 73 planning permission relates" means a planning permission which is the first in a sequence of two or more planning permissions, where the second and any subsequent planning permissions are section 73 planning permissions.

 

5.       The presence of the solar canopies does not justify future pruning of retained trees beyond good arboricultural management, and that no works to trees should be undertaken that would harm their health, structure or amenity in order to improve solar gain.