Planning Committee

Minutes

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the PLANNING COMMITTEE Meeting held on Tuesday 2 May at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks

Attendees: Parish Councillors: Cllr Kristian Berggreen (Chair), Cllr Robert Brewer and Cllr Claire Tester.

In Attendance: Deputy Clerk – Tracy Forte.

P22/173 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Carolyn Barton and Cllr Bill Hatton.

P22/174 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. Cllr Claire Tester declared an Other Pecuniary Interest in application SDNP/23/00480/FUL Site of Former Landfill, Clayton Hill, Hassocks West Sussex.

It was noted that without Cllr Tester’s presence the Committee would not be quorate for any decision on this application.  Therefore the Committee were unable to propose or agree any recommendation for application SDNP/23/00480/FUL Site of Former Landfill, Clayton Hill, Hassocks.

P22/175 MINUTES.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2023 be signed by the Chair as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

P22/176 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. There was one member of the public present, Mr Gary Lee, who was the applicant for SDNP/23/00480/FUL Site of Former Landfill, Clayton Hill, Hassocks.  Mr Lee was hoping to hear the Committee’s thoughts on the application and explained that he had been instructed to remove the trees by WSCC along this section of the road for safety reasons.  His intention now is to restore the land to agricultural land and as part of the work he has offered to include a cycle lane on part of Clayton Hill.

The Chair apologised that the Committee would not be able to make a recommendation, however agreed that he and Cllr Brewer would be happy to discuss the application.

P22/177 The Chair then proposed discussing application SDNP/23/00480/FUL Site of Former Landfill Clayton Hill, Hassocks first which was agreed by the Committee.

P22/178 APPLICATIONS

SDNP/23/00480/FUL Site of Former Landfill Clayton Hill Hassocks West Sussex Engineering operations including the importation of material to remediate former landfill operations incorporating the provision of an area of land suitable for the installation of a new public right of way.  Cllr Tester did not participate in this discussion, but both the Chair and Cllr Brewer were in agreement that a new cycle lane would be of a great benefit on this stretch of road and were supportive of the application.

DM/23/0955 8 The Crescent Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8RB  Proposed new porch. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL The applicant is advised that Government has committed to adopt a ‘Future Buildings Standard’ during 2021 which will change the Building Regulations requirements for alterations and extensions to homes to bring these alterations closer to that of a ‘zero energy building’.  This is supported by Policy 5 ‘Enabling Zero Carbon’ of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan which states that proposals that modify existing buildings (including extensions) should seek to maximise the inclusion of energy-saving measures and renewable energy generation.  Energy saving measures include floor, roof and wall insulation, and low u-value windows (which may need to be triple glazed).  These requirements may require amendments to your design which could affect the drawings submitted for planning permission. The applicant may wish to note that alterations that are built to a Nearly Zero Energy standard, are unlikely to need further retrofitting to minimise the carbon emissions that the nation is required to reduce to zero by 2050.  As retrofitting an existing home to be highly energy efficient is more complex than doing so for a new building, applicants may wish to look at the ‘EnerPHit’ standard that the Government is understood to be considering as the applicable “Nearly Zero Energy’ standard in this context, or at the Architypes published by the London Energy Transformation Initiative for u-values for your extension walls, windows etc. and for ventilation and overheating prevention standards to be achieved

DM/23/0981 9 Fir Tree Way Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8BT Proposed single storey side extension. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL The applicant is advised that Government has committed to adopt a ‘Future Buildings Standard’ during 2021 which will change the Building Regulations requirements for alterations and extensions to homes to bring these alterations closer to that of a ‘zero energy building’.  This is supported by Policy 5 ‘Enabling Zero Carbon’ of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan which states that proposals that modify existing buildings (including extensions) should seek to maximise the inclusion of energy-saving measures and renewable energy generation.  Energy saving measures include floor, roof and wall insulation, and low u-value windows (which may need to be triple glazed).  These requirements may require amendments to your design which could affect the drawings submitted for planning permission. The applicant may wish to note that alterations that are built to a Nearly Zero Energy standard, are unlikely to need further retrofitting to minimise the carbon emissions that the nation is required to reduce to zero by 2050.  As retrofitting an existing home to be highly energy efficient is more complex than doing so for a new building, applicants may wish to look at the ‘EnerPHit’ standard that the Government is understood to be considering as the applicable “Nearly Zero Energy’ standard in this context, or at the Architypes published by the London Energy Transformation Initiative for u-values for your extension walls, windows etc. and for ventilation and overheating prevention standards to be achieved

DM/23/1015 Manor House 104 Keymer Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8QS T1 Laurel – Crown thinning by 30%. T2 Yew – Remove branches by 1.5m. T3/T4 Sycamores – Crown reduction by 5m. T5 Magnolia – Remove lower bough and 2 smaller branches overhanging boundary Response: No Objection.

LI/23/0547 Proper Cycling & Coffee 26 Keymer Road Hassocks BN6 8AN Change hours for sale of alcohol; Add regulated entertainment. Response: The Committee had no objections to the change of hours for the sale of alcohol; however had some concerns about permission being granted for live music to be played until 11pm on weekdays due to the close proximity to residential dwellings.

P22/179 RESOLVED that the observations on the planning issues as agreed above be submitted to the relevant Planning Authority for consideration.

P22/180 PLANNING AUTHORITY DECISION NOTICES

The following decisions were noted:

Application details	Hassocks PC recommendation to Planning Authority	Planning Authority Decision (MSDC/SDNP)
DM/23/0097 17 The Crescent, Hassocks BN6 8RB	Recommend Approval	Permission Granted
DM/23/0536 70 Grand Avenue, Hassocks	Recommend Approval	Permission Granted

 

The following notifications of Certificate of Lawful Use or Development (LDC), General Permitted Development (GDP) and/or Prior Approval was noted:

Application details	Hassocks PC recommendation to Planning Authority	Planning Authority Decision (MSDC/SDNP)
DM/23/23/0527 42 Adastra Avenue, Hassocks BN6 8DL	Noted	LDC Issued

 

P22/181 Urgent Matters at the discretion of the Chairman for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda.

P22/182.1 DM/23/0586 13 London Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9NT.  Proposed single storey front porch extension and rear two storey extension. Associated new and replacement windows and a new external rendered finish, as shown on Amended Plans received on 24.04.2023.  Due to timing constraints an extension for comments could not be granted by MSDC for this amended application.  Therefore, Members were invited to note the amendments to this application which was previously recommended for approval by HPC. This was duly noted by Members.

P22/182.2 Notification of S278 Highways Agreement (MWA) at London Road, Hassocks.  Members were informed about correspondence received from WSCC Highways notifying Members of an application for a highway agreement for the following work on London Road – Proposed widening/improvement of existing site access and the construction of a new uncontrolled pedestrian crossing point.

The proposed work is in relation to application DM/22/0791 Proposed demolition of existing buildings and the erection of 3no. four-bedroomed and 1no. four bedroom replacement dwelling with associated parking, amenity space and landscaping  Members noted this information.

P22/182.3 As this was the last meeting of the current Parish Council, the Char extended his thanks to the Committee for their support over the past years.

P22/183 DATE OF NEXT MEETING. 22 May 2023

There being no other business the Chair closed the meeting at 8.04pm.