Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Joy Andrews and Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, Councillor Sam Cross substituted.

The Chair was the only Member in attendance at the previous meeting; therefore approval of the minutes was deferred to the meeting due to be held on 17 September 2026.

Decision

The approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2026 be deferred to the meeting due to be held on 17 September 2026.

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.

For the purposes of transparency, Councillor Cross advised that, with regard to item 5, he was the Division Member for Filey.

The Assistant Director Planning – Community Development Services sought determination of an outline planning application for the erection of up to 52 no. dwellings including associated infrastructure works, all matters reserved except means of access into (but not within) the site from White Gate on land adjacent to The Pastures, High Street, Sherburn.

The application was reported to the Area Planning Committee for determination because it was considered that significant planning issues had been raised.

The Principal Planning Officer brought to Members attention a change to the recommendation in light of the government's release of the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on Monday, 17 August 2026.

In light of the changes brought by the new NPPF, officers needed to properly assess the changes to the policy framework.

The officer therefore recommended that consideration of the application be deferred.

The Chair proposed and Councillor Baker seconded that the decision be deferred.

Decision

It was unanimously agreed that consideration of the application be deferred.

The Head of Development Management – Community Development Services sought determination of planning application for the relevant demolition of an unlisted building comprising toilets, café and kiosks in the Filey Conservation Area at Royal Parade, Filey, North Yorkshire, YO14 9JX.

The application was submitted on behalf of North Yorkshire Council on Council-owned land. Therefore, under the Council’s scheme of delegation, the application was required to be determined at planning committee.

The Development Management Team Manager confirmed that the recently published revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) did not change any policies in relation to the demolition of buildings within conservation areas. Therefore, officer advice within the report was unchanged other than specific references to the 2024 NPPF and numbered paragraphs therein. The officer referred to the 2026 NPPF and the relevant section thereof.

Members were reminded that permission had previously been granted in 2025 for the demolition of the toilet block, which formed the northern portion of the building. Further decline across the whole structure had made the building unusable and it was now empty and was not considered to contribute positively to the special historic character of the conservation area.

It was a felt prudent by the applicant to obtain permission if it was required to demolish at short notice, to safeguard the site and community but the ambition was to coordinate the demolition with any proposed works on a new development at the site.

For these reasons, demolition was considered the most appropriate and proportionate response, removing the identified public safety risks and allowing the site to be brought forward for appropriate future use.

John Barclay, Align Property Services spoke to the application.

Councillor Cross expressed a preference that the application be deferred until plans for a replacement development at the site could be brought for decision.

Officers explained that if this was a heritage asset that made a positive contribution to the character of the conservation area, it might be reasonable to have a scheme for the for the remediation and redevelopment of the site. However, due to the lack of merit and positive contribution of the building, the loss and resulting empty space would not be harmful to the character of the conservation area, provided in the medium term the site was restored to a reasonable condition – see Condition 3.

The Chair proposed and Councillor Baker seconded that permission be granted.

Decision

That planning permission be GRANTED subject to the conditions detailed in the report.

Voting record

2 For

1 Abstention

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

There were no items of urgent business.

Thursday, 17 September 2026 at 10.00am.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 17 September 2026.