Agenda and minutes

The Committee noted that apologies had been received from Councillor Laband.

None.

The Minutes of the Committee meetings held on 22 and 30 May 2019 were agreed as correct records and signed by the Chairman.

None.

The Chairman confirmed that Members had received the agenda update sheet and additional letters of objection.

Steven King, Planning Applications Team Leader introduced the report to the Committee for the hybrid application comprising of outline planning permission for a residential development of 130 dwellings consisting of 12 one bedroom apartments, 27 two bedroom houses, 47 three bedroom houses and 44 four bedroom houses and associated access, together with a change of use of the part of the land to country open space, following the provision of a new pedestrian tunnel under the railway. 

The Team Leader confirmed that access into the site was the same as the previous application (DM/18/2342) which was refused on 29 November 2018.  He advised that the difference from the scheme that was refused in November was the provision of a pedestrian tunnel under the railway line in place of the previously proposed pedestrian bridge. He noted that the application was contrary to District Plan policies DP6, DP12 and DP15 as the application was proposing a major housing development in the countryside.  He informed Members that there was an allocated housing site to the east known as Clayton Mills and a consented site to the west at the Hassocks Golf Course.  He advised that compared with the previously refused scheme, the current application has the benefit of a pedestrian tunnel which would provide accessibility for all and is an  improvement on the previously proposed pedestrian bridge and would provide a significant safety benefit compared to the existing unmanned crossing.  The Team Leader reminded Members that the only reason the Secretary of State refused the original application was due to safety concerns about the crossing of the railway line.  

The Team Leader advised Members that the Secretary of State’s decision has been made under a different planning policy background at a period when the District Plan had not been adopted and the Council could not demonstrate a 5 year housing land supply. He advised that for many of the issues the Inspector and Secretary of State considered, such as the access into the site and drainage, the five year land supply position was not determinative. For example, in the case of highway safety, the access was either safe or not, the position with the 5 year land supply did not impact on this.

The Team Leader referred to the Inspectors report for the original appeal on this site which stated that whilst Hassocks had made a considerable contribution to the District Councils housing needs, there was no reason why Hassocks could not accommodate more housing, consistent with its position in the settlement hierarchy.  The Team Leader advised that there would be no coalescence between Burgess Hill and Hassocks and this was consistent with the views of the Planning Inspector and Secretary of State. 

The Team Leader confirmed that Stonepound crossroads has been designated an air quality management area and explained the reason for this. He confirmed that Mid Sussex District Council’s Environmental Health Team had no objections  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

None.