Agenda and minutes

Venue: COUNCIL CHAMBER

Contact: Email: committees@midsussex.gov.uk 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

To elect the Chairman of the District Planning Committee.

Minutes:

Councillor Forbes nominated Councillor Sweatman as Chairman of the District Planning Committee. This was seconded by Councillor Peacock and with no further nominations put forward, this was agreed.

 

RESOLVED

 

That Councillor Sweatman be elected Chairman of the District Planning Committee.

 

2.

To elect the Vice-chairman of the District Planning Committee (if appropriate).

Minutes:

The Chairman nominated Councillor Peacock as Vice-Chairman of the District Planning Committee. This nomination was seconded by Councillor Forbes and with no further nominations put forward, this was agreed.

 

RESOLVED

 

That Councillor Peacock be appointed asVice-Chairman of the District Planning Committee.

 

3.

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Cllr Hatton and Cllr Laband.

 

4.

To receive Declarations of Interest from Members in respect of any matter on the Agenda.

Minutes:

Councillor Bates declared a non-pre-determined interest in Item 7 DM/20/4159 as he is a Member of Haywards Heath Town Council.

 

5.

To confirm Minutes of the previous meeting of the District Planning Committee held on 15 April 2021 and the meeting of the Annual District Planning Committee held on 28 April 2021. pdf icon PDF 308 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Committee meeting held on 15 April 2021 and 28 April 2021 were agreed as a correct record and signed electronically by the Chairman.

 

6.

To consider any items that the Chairman agrees to take as urgent business.

Minutes:

None.

7.

DM/20/4159 - Downlands Park Care Home, Bolnore Farm Lane, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 4BQ. pdf icon PDF 763 KB

Minutes:

Steven King, Planning Applications Team Leader introduced the application seeking full planning permission for the erection of a part two, part three and part four storey building comprising 66 extra care apartments with a community hub, guest suite and staff facilities together with 15 extra care cottages, pavilion, parking and access to form a Continuing Care Retirement Community following the demolition of the existing care home.

 

The Team Leader confirmed that Committee Members had received the Agenda Update Sheet which detailed clarifications regarding cycle and mobility scooter storage, along with two additional conditions regarding noise and the times for refuse collection.

 

The Team Leader drew Members’ attention to the site’s location, as the development plan for this part of Mid Sussex consists of the District Plan (DP) and Haywards Heath Neighbourhood Plan (HHNP). The site is within the built-up area of Haywards Heath, and the existing layout has a care home at the northern end of the site and a car park on the side. The proposal was to demolish all buildings on-site and redevelop the site. The two main wings of the apartment building will be linked by a  building that appears as a single storey structure when viewed from the north and two storeys when viewed from the south.As highlighted in the report, the application takes advantage of the falling levels of the site. The existing boundary planting would be retained and enhanced.

 

The Team Leader discussed the issue of affordable housing, detailed on page 47 of the report, and officers were of the view that there wasn't a need for affordable housing provision as the proposal is C2 instead of C3. He also referred to plans for drainage, which would go from the site to the southeast. It was considered that the site can be satisfactorily drained, with no objections to the scheme from the Council's Drainage Engineer or Southern Water. He expressed the view that the application offers the best use of the site,  there was no adverse impact on the landscape and is located within the built-up area, with no significant harm to neighbouring amenities, as indicated on page 41 of the report.

 

There would be provision for car parking around the property, with 80 spaces: with 64 on the surface, the remaining 16 in the under-croft area. He added that there should be no significant adverse impact on the adjoining properties from vehicle movements and car parking arising from the proposed access road and car parking spaces. There is also no objection from the Highways Authority to the car parking and access arrangements.

 

The Team Leader advised that the existing building was not listed and was not of listable quality. He outlined the Planning Officers view that the existing building can be regarded as a non-designated heritage asset. He outlined that in the Planning Officers view, in the balanced judgement required under paragraph 197 of the NPPF, the benefits of the scheme outweighed the loss of the non-designated heritage asset.

 

He concluded that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Questions pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 10.2 due notice of which has been given.