In the interests of transparency, Councillors Wainwright and Warburton disclosed that they had been Members of the Committee when the application concerning Land at Bingley Road, Menston (Minute 80) had been considered previously.  They undertook to approach the amended current application with an open mind and to consider all the relevant material planning issues before making a decision.

In the interests of transparency, Councillor Amran disclosed, in relation to the item concerning Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver Suitability Policy (Minute 79), that he had extended family in the trade and he recognised a number of people associated with the report.  He had not discussed the Policy with anyone nor expressed an opinion.

In the interests of transparency, Councillor Cooke disclosed that, in relation to the item concerning Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver Suitability Policy (Minute 79), he was a trustee of Cullingworth Sports Association and one of their tenants was a private hire company.  He had not discussed the Policy with anyone nor expressed an opinion.

ACTION:       City Solicitor

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meetings held on 22 August, 13 September at 10am and 12pm and 4 October 2018 at 10am and 12pm be signed as a correct record.

(Claire Tomenson – 01274 432457)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meetings held on 22 August, 13 September at 10am and 12pm and 4 October 2018 at 10am and 12pm be signed as a correct record.

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Claire Tomenson - 01274 432457)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

The Committee will be asked to consider recommendations, if any, to appoint Members to Sub-Committees of the Committee.

                                                            (Claire Tomenson – 01274 432457)

No resolution was passed on this item.

The Strategic Director, Place will present Document “AJ”  which seeks approval to implement a new suitability criteria for Private Hire and Hackney Carriage drivers, which focuses on the overall fitness and propriety of the applicants.

Recommended –

(1)       That the policy “Determining The Suitability of Applicants and Licensees as Drivers in Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Licensing” be approved.

(2)       That authority be granted to the Chair of the Committee to liaise with the Portfolio Holder to make any minor changes necessary to remain commensurate with the outcomes of the West Yorkshire and York Authorities.

(3)       That the option to maintain the current limit of 222 hackney carriage licences be approved.

(Carol Stos – 01274 437506)

The Strategic Director, Place presented Document “AJ”  which sought approval to implement a new suitability criteria for Private Hire and Hackney Carriage drivers, which focused on the overall fitness and propriety of the applicants. 

A representative of the Licensed Vehicle Surveys and Assessment (LVSA) explained that an unmet demand survey had been commissioned in January 2018, completed in July 2018 and a full report had been available in December 2018.  He explained that the report gathered evidence to show if there was significant unmet demand in relation to Bradford’s 222 hackney carriage vehicles and then gave a presentation to Members.

In response to Members’ queries, the LVSA representative confirmed that the hackney carriage vehicles probably undertook contract work as they were wheelchair accessible.  He stated that there was a great deal of spare capacity and it could be argued that 222 vehicles was more than required, however, reducing the numbers would not be an easy process and further licences could not be issued if some had been returned.  Members noted that the availability of an ‘app’ had increased the demand in another city.  The Chair then thanked the LVSA representative for the informative report.

The Licensing Service Manager informed Members that the policy proposed new driver suitability criteria in order to protect the public and work had been undertaken with other Local Authorities.  Each case would be considered on its own merits and an Authority could depart from the policy if there were exceptional circumstances.  An engagement process had been carried out in Bradford during November and December 2018, however, other Local Authorities had concluded their consultations on 18 January 2019.  Members of the trade had been engaged via an on-line survey, which had been advertised in the Telegraph and Argus, letters had been sent to companies and road shows had taken place.  The Licensing Service Manager reported that survey had closed at midnight on 15 December 2018 and 697 submissions had been received.  In light of the survey results, the policy had been changed to reduce the ban period from five to three years for minor offences.  The policy was then recommended for approval, subject to any slight amendments that the Chair of the Committee deemed necessary following the outcomes of the other Local Authority consultations.

Members then posed questions and were informed that:

·         Offences were categorised using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) website and their opinion.

·         There were 4,500 private hire and hackney carriage drivers.

·         It could not be mandated that drivers should respond to the engagement process.  Reminders had been sent, meetings with Trade Associations had taken place and road shows had taken place.

·         41 responses had been received from operators, which was 6% of the overall response.

·         There had been sufficient resources and time allocated for the engagement process.

·         Drivers had to have an email address to sign up for a licence.  The engagement process had been promoted at meetings with trade representatives and operators and within the Telegraph and Argus newspaper to try  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

Previous references:           Area Planning Panel (Shipley): Minute 48(a) (2011/12), Regulatory and Appeals Committee: Minute 97 (2012/13), Minute 44 (2014/15), Minute 83 (2014/15)

The Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways will present a report (Document “AK”) in respect of the demolition of a steel frame agricultural building and small agricultural shed and the residential development of 133 dwellings, with associated infrastructure works and access, at land at Bingley Road, Menston – 17/04591/MAF

Recommended -

(1)       That the application be approved for the reasons and subject to the conditions set out in the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways’ technical report.

(2)       That the grant of planning permission be subject also to the completion of a legal planning obligation under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, or such other lawful mechanism for securing the heads of terms as may be agreed in consultation with the City Solicitor, in respect of:

(i)            the provision of 30% affordable housing.

(ii)          the provision of information panels at access points onto the South Pennine Moors Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

(iii)         improvements to the local footpath network that link northwards from the development site into networks in Wharfedale.

And the implementation of off site highway improvements /Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) as set out below:

(i)            £25,000 to provide dropped crossings and tactile paving along the route between the application site and Menston Railway Station.

(ii)          £7,000 for a TRO to reduce the speed limit to 30mph on Bingley Road between the site access and Derry Hill.

(iii)         £24,000 for measures around the Main Street/Bingley Road junction to include: a TRO to discourage the current indiscriminate parking near the junction; installation of six speed plateaus for the approaches to the junction; and installation of a Vehicle Activated Sign on Bingley Road next to the park.

the legal planning obligation to contain such other ancillary provisions as the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways (after consultation with the City Solicitor) considers appropriate.

                                                                        (John Eyles – 01274 434380)

Previous references:           Area Planning Panel (Shipley): Minute 48(a) (2011/12), Regulatory and Appeals Committee: Minute 97 (2012/13), Minute 44 (2014/15), Minute 83 (2014/15)

The Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways presented a report (Document “AK”) in respect of the demolition of a steel frame agricultural building and small agricultural shed and the residential development of 133 dwellings, with associated infrastructure works and access, at land at Bingley Road, Menston – 17/04591/MAF

The Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways informed Members that the site sloped and had residential properties on the boundary.  He confirmed that a footway would be provided onto the site from Bingley Road and off site highway improvements would be undertaken.  The construction of 133 dwellings had been proposed with 30%, 39 units, for affordable housing.  The scheme followed the previous application which had been refused in 2011 on the grounds of the inadequate drainage scheme and insufficient mitigation measures to offset the harm to the Special Protection Area.  It was noted that since the publication of the report 191 objections and two representations in support had been received.  The Parish Council had also submitted a report in relation to ground water advice.  The Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways reported that discussions had been undertaken to ensure that the previous issues were resolved and an independent review of the drainage system had been carried out by the Arup Group.  He confirmed that the applicant had now reached a position where the drainage scheme would not increase the flooding of the site, therefore, it was proposed that condition 5 be removed from the application.  Natural England had been consulted with regard to the habitats regulations assessment and they had stated that any impact could be mitigated through a Section 106 Agreement.  There was no evidence of the site being used by wildlife, however, the applicant had agreed to fund information panels at key access points.  The Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways stated that the application complied with Council policies in respect of overshadowing and overlooking and would meet the Community Infrastructure Levy requirements.  Members were informed that separate money would be made available for the highways works and the number of school places would be expanded where required.  The application was then recommended for approval, subject to the Section 106 Agreement and the omission of condition 5.        

In response to Members’ questions, the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways confirmed that the design of the proposed houses would be similar to those previously approved, there would be a single point of access and the layout would be comparable, therefore the scheme was considered to be appropriate.  Analysis of the access point had been undertaken as part of the lapsed Derry Hill application, however, further work would be undertaken and the design of the development would limit the number of vehicles.

An objector was present at the meeting and made the following comments:  

·         He had previously been the Chair of the Menston  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.