Planning Committee

Minutes

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting held virtually on
Monday 11 January 2021 at 7.30pm

Attendees:  Parish Councillors: Jane Baker, Kristian Berggreen, Bob Brewer, Leslie Campbell, Bill Hatton, Nick Owens and Claire Tester.

In Attendance: Deputy Clerk: Tracy Forte

P20/132 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.  There were no apologies of absence.

P20/133 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. Cllr Nick Owens declared a personal interest application DM/20/4707 13 Hurst Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9NJ.

P20/134 MINUTES. It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 21 December 2020, be signed by the Chair as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

P20/135 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.  There were no members of the public present.

P20/136 APPLICATIONS

DM/20/4649 19 Friars Oak Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8PT Part single and two storey rear extension. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL.

DM/20/4644 White Lodge Ockley Lane Hassocks Burgess Hill Proposed demolition of an existing double garage and the erection of a double garage, garden store and store room/hobbies room above. Response: RECOMMEND REFUSAL.  This proposal is lacking sufficient information to enable an informed decision to be made.  The application form is missing from the documents online and the block plan does not show the location of the existing garage: it is not clear whether it lies inside or outside the ‘red line’ shown on the block plan, giving rise to an uncertainty as to whether it actually forms part of the property which is the subject of this application.  Therefore it is difficult to clearly ascertain the location of the proposed new garage or indeed whether there is an old garage on the property for which the new one would be a substitute.  The proposed new garage would be entirely separate to the existing dwelling and would appear tantamount to being a new dwelling in the strategic gap between Burgess Hill and Hassocks, contrary to policy DP13: Preventing Coalescence of the District Plan.  Furthermore the Parish Council is concerned by the insufficient attention paid to the Ancient Woodland on this site. The evidence submitted with the application only considers impact on individual trees, it doesn’t consider the impact on the soils or biodiversity of the Ancient Woodland which the new access would go through. Furthermore that access isn’t within the red line so couldn’t be controlled by any conditions.

DM/20/4648 10 Fox Close Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8YG Proposed loft conversion to create two bedrooms and garage conversion to form home gym with adjoining bike store.  This is an application to establish whether the development is lawful. This will be a legal decision where the planning merits of the proposed use cannot be taken into account. (LDC). Response: RECOMMEND REJECTION.  It is understood that properties on this development are subject to a restricted condition which preclude Permitted Development.  Additionally it is considered that the proposed design is lacking respect for the character and scale of the surrounding buildings and is therefore contrary to Policy 9 of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan and Policy DP26 of the District Plan, Character and Design.

DM/20/4707 13 Hurst Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9NJ Demolition of existing workshop and existing attached garage. Construction of a two-storey extension to the side elevation to include annexe accommodation for dependent relative. Construction of single storey orangery extension to the rear elevation, with single storey extension to existing utility room. Cllr Nick Owen abstained from voting. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL.

P20/137 APPLICATIONS FOR DISCHARGE OF PLANNING CONDITIONS.

Discharge of planning condition number 4 relating to planning application DM/20/2682. Woodsland Road Bridge Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8EU. Ref. No: DM/20/4401.  Noted

Discharge of planning condition No: 4 relating to planning application DM/20/1642/Ful 9 Newlands Close Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8BQ.  Ref. No: DM/20/4469.  Noted

P20/138 RESOLVED that the observations on the planning issues as agreed above be submitted to the relevant Planning Authority for consideration.

P20/139 PLANNING AUTHORITY DECISION NOTICES

The following decisions were noted:              

The following notifications of Certificate of Lawful Use or Development and/or General Permitted Development were noted:

P20/140 MSDC Site Allocations DPD – Submission. Members were invited to note that Mid Sussex District Council has formally submitted its Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) and accompanying documents to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.  Further information can be found on the MSDC website at https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/planning-building/development-plan-documents/.   This was noted by the Committee.  It was also noted that MSDC has put out a further call for sites to be considered through the forthcoming update to the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA). Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan Committee will be reviewing this.  

P20/141  Urgent Matters at the discretion of the Chairman for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda.  There were no urgent matters.  

P20/142 DATE OF NEXT MEETING.   Monday 1 February 2021 at 7.30pm.

There being no other business the Chair closed the meeting at 8.15pm