Four more conditions of the Jolly Boatman planning application have been approved at a council sub-committee meeting.

One condition, the buffer zone, was deferred from the last meeting to allow councillors to attend the site and see aerial photographs.

The purpose of the 1.8m, 8m-wide fence is to maintain and protect the character of the watercourse and provide undisturbed refuges for wildlife using the river corridor.

At its narrowest point, it will be just 0.8m from the care home Gladedale has proposed. 

Councillors visited the site on Friday, September 21, to inspect the area.

At the Monday meeting, Councillor Tony Popham said: “The site visit was very useful and we gained a lot of information, but I have real concerns. Where do you define the top of the river bank?”

After discussion about where the river bank started, councillors agreed the condition subject to landscaping.

Councillors confirmed compliance on three further conditions of the application; landscaping, tree retention and protection, piling and method for piling foundations and water supply.

The planning application has 56 conditions which must be approved and Gladedale has until June 16, 2013 to start building on the site before planning permission ceases.