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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.