Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Angus Thompson.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 9 October 2025 as an accurate record.

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 9^th October 2025 were confirmed by Members and signed by the Chair as an accurate record.

All Members are invited to declare at this point any interests, including the nature of those interests, or lobbying in respect of any items appearing on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interests.

Report of the Assistant Director Planning – Community Development Services

Considered :-

The Head of Development Management - Community Development Services sought determination of a planning application for the modification of existing window sills and

installation of new windows and entrance door to the ground floor front elevation at Barclays, 193 High Street, Northallerton

The application had been referred to the Committee at the request of the Divisional Member.

The Principal Planning Officer presented the report highlighting plans and photographs and provided an explanation of the reasons relating to the recommendation for refusal.

The Divisional Member, Councillor Caroline Dickinson, addressed the Committee, highlighting the following:-

• She had taken account of the character of the building and considered that 50-60 years ago she would have agreed with the recommendation to refuse any alteration to the façade.
• Looking at the shop frontages along the High Street now, others did not reflect this appearance, and many had been altered to reflect modern expectations, with modern display windows very prominent.
• The former HSBC bank, further along te same row, had seen extensive alterations to the frontage to accommodate a new business.
• The former Barclays building did not have listed status.
• The application sought to increase the size of the ground floor windows but would retain the features currently in place and would not be detrimental to the character of the existing building.
• The doorway had previously been moved to the opposite side of the entrance to the building.
• To retain its viability the town needed to be able to attract appropriate businesses to the town centre and the alterations would provide an opportunity for this to take place.

During consideration of the above application, the Committee discussed the following issues:-

·        It was clarified that the sash windows were to be retained, as were the surrounding features, it was the length of the windows that was to be altered.

·        Restrictions on such applications could limit the offer provided by local towns, limiting their viability.

·        The proposed changes were minimal and did not detract from the appearance of the building.

·        The proposal was less than a substantial change and was outweighed by the need to retain the viability of the town centre.

The Decision :-

That planning permission be MINDED TO BE GRANTED subject to prior completion of a suite of conditions the compilation of which was delegated to the relevant officers in conjunction with the applicant.

Voting Record

A vote was taken and the motion was carried unanimously.

Any other items which the Chair agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances.

There were no urgent items of business.

10.00am, Wednesday, 14 January 2026 at a venue to be determined – please note the date and day of the meeting have been altered on this occasion to avoid a clash with several other meetings and to prevent papers for the meeting having to be provided prior to the Christmas break.