Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence received.

Apologies were received from Councillor Chris Donnelly. Councillor Stephen Philpott attended as a deputy.

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code.  Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

It was noted that there was some duplication in the attendance list, but the minutes of the last meeting were then agreed.

Deputations are taken at the relevant item in which they apply.

The Chairman confirmed that seven deputations had been received for the meeting along with one County Councillor.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Committee was reminded of upcoming training sessions and informed that previous training slides and recordings could be viewed on the Members Regulatory Toolkit.

To consider a report from the Assistant Director for Waste and Environmental Services on a revised application - variation of condition 7 (volume of waste) and 13 (HGV movements) of planning permission 19/00200/HCS at Ecogen Recycling Limited, Stoke Charity Road, Kings Worthy, Hampshire SO21 2RP (No. 23/01338/HCS) WR240

Revised Application - Variation of condition 7 (volume of waste) and 13 (HGV Movements) of Planning Permission 19/00200/HCS at Ecogen Recycling Limited, Stoke Charity Road, Kings Worthy, Hampshire SO21 2RP (No. 23/01338/HCS) WR240

The Committee considered a report from the Assistant Director of Waste and Environmental Services (item 6 in the minute book) on a revised application in Kings Worthy that had come to Committee earlier in 2023.

It was raised that a highway officer was not present at the meeting and Members discussed whether the meeting should be adjourned if a highway officer could not attend. The meeting proceeded on the basis that it was premature to defer the item before it had been heard. Members would therefore hear the item and if they subsequently considered unable to make a decision they would be free to move for deferral at that point.

The lead officer summarised the report, highlighting the update report that had been published (see minute book). This covered some amendments to the original report and further information received since the publication, but did not affect the recommendations. As detailed in the report, the applicant had taken some proactive measures in response to local concerns (including the installation of signage for HGV’s upon exiting). The site has been actively monitored and no formal complaints have been received by the Waste Planning Authority since the last planning application was heard.

The Committee was shown aerial photographs of the site and surrounding area, and the nearest properties were highlighted. It was confirmed that the speedbumps on site had since been removed with the whole site being resurfaced to help mitigate noise from vehicles manoeuvring.

The Committee received seven deputations on this item along with the County Councillor. Local residents Amanda Hassell, Rosamund McCarthy, Ann Edwards and Steve Waters all attended and spoke against the application along with Councillor Signe Biddle from Kings Worthy Parish Council and Councllor Steve Cramoysan from Winchester City Council. The applicant attended to speak in support of the proposals and County Councillor Jackie Porter also shared her concerns regarding the application and potential impact on the local area.

During questions of deputations, the following points were clarified:

• A HGV survey had been done by local residents, but it was unclear how many of the HGV’s recorded had left or entered the site.
• The applicant had an email address for the community to use to report any concerns or complaints, which was regularly monitored.
• The increase in noise levels would be less than 1dB, resulting in no audible or discernible difference to the current arrangements, should the application be approved.
• Utilising the rail connection was not feasible due to the topography of the area and steep bank.
• The majority of waste material came from within Hampshire but a small proportion came from outside of the County. Should the application be successful, it was thought that the ration would likely remain the same but in potentially higher quantities going forward.
• Noise analysis had been undertaken on both  ...  view the full minutes text for item 146.