Agenda item

DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Councillor Milne declared an interest in the following item of business by reason of his wife having been referred to in the report as an objector to the application in her role as an MSP. Councillor Milne considered that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting and took no part in the Council’s deliberations.

Councillor Cormack declared an interest by virtue of being a homeowner in close proximity to the proposed development. Councillor Cormack considered that the nature of her interest required her to leave the meeting and took no part in the Council’s deliberations.

Reference was made to (1) Article 3 of the minute of meeting of the Development Management Sub Committee of 1^st October 2009, at which time there was under consideration a report by the Head of Planning and Infrastructure on the application (090141) lodged on behalf of the Trustees of Nazareth Care Home for planning permission to erect a nursing home and constant care flat units on a site extending to some 1.9 hectares at Craigton Road, Aberdeen, the site being situated to the north of, and forming part of the grounds of, Airyhall House, formerly in use as a local authority children’s home but now extended and converted to form twenty-three retirement flats. The report before members that day advised that the application represented a departure from the Development Plan in respect of which the planning authority, in accordance with the guidance contained within Planning Advice Note 41, was required to consider the appropriateness or otherwise of a departure hearing; and (2) the minute of meeting of the Development Management Sub Committee of 20^th November 2009, when said departure hearing had been conducted, in advance of which a site visit had been undertaken.

The Council had before it a report by the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development which explained that the planning application required to be determined by the full Council under new legislation introduced in August 2009 as part of the Scottish Government’s modernisation of the planning system. Section 14(2) of the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 amended the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to the effect that where a planning application had been the subject of a Pre-Determination Hearing under Section 38A of the 2006 Act, the planning application had to be decided by the full Council.

The report contained information regarding the location of the site, the surrounding uses and the general character of the area. The report explained that detailed planning permission was sought for the erection of a 54-bedroom nursing home, which was an amended proposal. Following the Pre-Determination Hearing, the applicant had made a number of changes to the proposal in response to issues, concerns and objections which had been raised by members of the public at the hearing and in written representations lodged with the Council. In summary, the original proposal to include eight constant care residential units alongside the nursing home had been deleted. Some changes had also been made to the size and design of the nursing home. The design and position of the access road had also been altered.

The views of the statutory consultees and the letters of objection were referred to in the report which contained an indication of the relevant policy considerations arising. The detailed evaluation of the application was then set out in relation to Scottish Planning Policy, the Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan, the Aberdeen Local Plan, the Aberdeen Local Development Plan Main Issues Report (October 2009) and the various objections that had been raised by the Community Council and members of the public.

The report concluded that the proposed development was significantly contrary to Green Belt policy as expressed in the Scottish Government’s Scottish Planning Policy and in the Aberdeen Local Plan (Policy 28). The applicant had endeavoured to justify why the development needed to be located on the specific site but a compelling case had not been made that would warrant departing from Government policy and the Development Plan. The report further concluded that it was premature and indeed inappropriate to approve development on the application site until a full and proper review of the Green Belt boundaries and the boundaries of any potential development sites in the locality had been carried out as part of the Local Development Plan process.

The report recommended:-

that the application be refused on the following grounds:- (1) that the proposal, if approved, would be contrary to the terms of Policy 28 ‘Green Belt’ of the Aberdeen Local Plan and the Scottish Government’s Planning Policy by reason that a nursing home did not fall within the categories of acceptable development in the Green Belt, that the applicant had failed to demonstrate that there was an overriding and compelling need to locate the development on this specific site in the Green Belt and would contribute towards the coalescence of Airyhall and Cults which would be contrary to a key aim of the Green Belt in the current Local Plan; and (2) that the proposal, if approved, would be premature and inappropriate in advance of the review of Green Belt boundaries as part of the new Aberdeen Local Development Plan.

Councillor Dean moved, seconded by Councillor McCaig:-

That the application be refused in accordance with the recommendation contained within the report.

Councillor Cassie moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Donnelly:-

That the application be approved subject to appropriate conditions as recommended by planning officers, on the basis that there was a need for nursing home accommodation within the city and that the applicants had demonstrated that no other sites were available within the Aberdeen area that met their specific requirements.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion  (14)  -  Councillors Adam, Boulton, Cooney, Cormie, Dean, Greig, Laing, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, May, Noble, Penny and Yuill.

For the amendment  (23)  -  Depute Provost Dunbar; and Councillors Allan, Cassie, Clark, Collie, Corall, Donnelly, Farquharson, Fletcher, Graham, Hunter, Ironside, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, Reynolds, Robertson, John Stewart, Kevin Stewart, Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West and Young.

Declined to vote  (1)  -  Lord Provost Peter Stephen.

Absent from the division  (5)  -  Councillors Cormack, Crockett, Milne, Jennifer Stewart and Wisely.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the amendment.

In accordance with Standing Order 15(6), Councillor McDonald requested that his dissent be recorded against the above decision.