Agenda and minutes

None. 

In relation to item 9 DM/23/1053 – The Haven Centre, Hophurst Lane, Crawley Down, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 4LJ Councillor Hitchcock declared a non-registrable interest as he is a former Member of the club and has prior knowledge of the project prior to the application be submitted.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on the 24 May 2023 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

The Chairman had no urgent business.

With the agreement of the Chairman and Committee, the agenda items were addressed in the following order;

Susan Dubberley, Senior Planning Officer, introduced the application which sought full planning permission for 13 dwellings on land adjacent to Cookhams, Top Road, Sharpthorne, with associated new access, including the creation of a community open space on the southern part of the site. She noted the site sits within the built-up area of Sharpthorne and is an allocated site within the Neighbourhood Plan. The Urban Designer had some design and layout concerns which have now been addressed and the application amended to reflect these. Finally, the Senior Planning Officer advised in compliance with the Neighbourhood plan a public right of way is sought through the site to link with the existing footpath. However, this cannot be achieved due to the red line boundary and private land prohibiting it. 

Councillor Douglas Denham St Pinnock, spoke in favour of the application.

Laura Black, Agent, spoke in favour of the application.

In response to the first speaker, the Chairman asked officers if the S106 agreement could include contributions to the community infrastructure, specifically the local amenities which will be used by new residents, including the Sports Pavilion. Officers confirmed the revised agreement was in the process of being finalised.

In response to a Member query regarding provision of the approved plans under the recommendations, the Chairman advised detailed plans are available online and not as part of the report. Steve King, Planning Team Leader, confirmed that when the decision notice is issued, this will include a list of all the approved plans.

The Senior Planning Officer confirmed, at the request of a Member, that a condition would be added to include details of the street lighting in accordance with the application requirements. She confirmed 4 of the units would be affordable housing dwellings.

As there were no further questions the Chairman took Members to a vote on the recommendations, proposed by Councillor Brown and seconded by Councillor Sweatman. This was approved unanimously with 12 in favour.

RESOLVED

Recommendation A

Planning permission was approved subject to the completion of a satisfactory S106 Legal Agreement to secure infrastructure contributions, affordable housing and the conditions set in Appendix A.

Recommendation B

If the applicants have not completed a satisfactory signed planning obligation by the 15^th October 2023, permission be refused, at the discretion of the Divisional Leader for Planning and Economy, for the following reason:

'The application fails to comply with policy DP20 of the Mid Sussex District Plan in respect of the infrastructure and affordable housing required to serve the

development.'

Joseph Swift, Senior Planning Officer, introduced the report which sought full planning permission for a guest accommodation block with associated parking, infrastructure and landscaping works at The Gardeners Arms, Selsfield Road, Ardingly. The Senior Planning Officer took members through the plans, and advised Members that the proposal is considered to be acceptable in principle, is of an appropriate design, size and scale that would be in-keeping with the character of the countryside while preserving the wider AONB the proposal is also considered acceptable in relation to highways, access and parking provision, neighbouring amenity, Ashdown Forest, Drainage and sustainable construction. Weighing against the proposal was the loss of the existing trees and less than substantial harm to the setting of the listed building.   In summary the proposed development meets the policies within the Development Plan and supports the rural economy and employment market. These benefits are considered to outweigh the identified harm.  

Oliver Woolf, Agent spoke in favour of the application.

The Chairman welcomed the application, noting it would be of great benefit to the local area and Members agreed.

Members discussed the car parking at the site, both existing and additional spaces and whether the additional spaces would be adequate. The Senior Planning Officer confirmed it was difficult to gauge the exact number of existing parking spaces as the overflow parking is not marked, however this application will include 55 spaces as part of the development which WSCC Highways have raised no objections to. He noted Members concerns that the site is not that well served by public transport, however a condition was in place to secure bicycle storage.

A Member noted the number of objections to the application, the Chairman advised the application must be considered as a whole and with regards to the impact on the setting of the listed building, it had been assessed as causing less than substantial harm to the site. This less than substantial harm had to be weighed against the overall public benefits of the scheme, as set out in the officers report.

As there were no further comments, the Chairman took Members to a vote on the recommendation, proposed by the Chairman and seconded by Councillor Sweatman. This was approved with 10 in favour, 1 against and 1 abstention.

RESOLVED

That planning permission was approved subject to the conditions outlined at Appendix A.

Steven King, Planning Team Leader, introduced the application which sought permission for an extension to the Community Hall and a new accessible front entrance encompassing energy efficiency measures. He drew Members attention to the changes noted on the Agenda Update sheet and that ‘Appendix B’ be replaced with ‘Appendix A’. The application is before the Committee as Mid Sussex District Council are the landowner, and the Chairman emphasised this, noting the importance of extending community facilities to meet the needs of residents. 

In response to a Member asking if Mid Sussex District Council would finance the extension the Chairman confirmed this, reminding Members the Council are the landowners and building owners. The Planning Team Leader advised Members that the financing of the development was not a matter that was relevant to the determination of the planning application.

As there were no further questions, the Chairman took Members to a vote on the amended recommendation, proposed by Councillor Sweatman and seconded by Councillor Henwood. This was approved unanimously with 12 in favour.

RESOLVED

The planning permission was granted subject to the conditions listed at Appendix A.

Katherine Williams, Planning Officer, introduced the application which sought temporary planning permission to locate 4 x 6m shipping containers on the Court Bushes Community Hub Car Park to store equipment used by community groups and organisations. She noted it is before the Committee as Mid Sussex District Council are the landowner.

The Chairman advised the Parish Council and Ward Councillors had been in contact to ask the Committee to consider extending the temporary planning permission from 3 to 5 years, in order to allow the Parish Council time to explore how it can secure a permanent storage solution. The Chairman noted he was in support of this with the agreement of the Committee and following the advice from Steven King, the Planning Team Leader.

A Member expressed concerns that there was no guarantee the Parish Council would find a permanent storage solution by extending the temporary planning permission, given the lack of clarity of how long the existing containers have already been on the land.

As there were no further the questions, the Chairman took Members to a vote on the recommendation, as amended to extend the temporary planning permission from 3 to 5 years. This was proposed by the Vice Chairman, Councillor Kennedy and seconded by Councillor Hitchcock and was approved unanimously with 12 in favour.

RESOLVED

The planning permission was approved subject to the conditions outlined at Appendix A as amended.  

Councillor Hitchcock removed from the meeting at 5.18pm.

Katherine Williams, Planning Officer, introduced the application which sought planning permission to upgrade the existing facilities around the football pitch, including replacement LED Lamps and removal of the existing Diesel generator. She drew Members attention to the Agenda Update sheet, noting the amendment to condition 4 of the recommended conditions, ‘the lighting hereby permitted shall be switched off at or before 23:00 hours.’ The application is before the Committee as Mid Sussex District Council are the landowners.

The Chairman summarised the application for the benefit of the Members and asked the Committee if there were any questions. As there were none, he took Members to the vote on the recommendations as amended, this was proposed by the Vice Chairman, Councillor Kennedy and seconded by Councillor Sweatman. This was approved unanimously with 11 in favour.

RESOLVED

The planning permission was approved subject to the amended conditions outlined at Appendix A.

Councillor Hitchcock returned to the meeting at 5.24pm.

None.