Planning Committee

Agenda

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

To:   All Members of the Planning Committee (Cllrs Jane Baker, Kristian Berggreen, Robert Brewer, Leslie Campbell, Bill Hatton, Claire Tester and Nick Owens) with copies to all other Councillors for information.

A virtual meeting of the PLANNING COMMITTEE will be held on Monday 15 March 2021 at 7.30pm.

Parish Clerk
9 March 2021

1. AGENDA

2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. Disclosure by Councillors of personal and/or pecuniary interests in matters on the agenda and whether the Councillors regard their interest as prejudicial/pecuniary under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

4. MINUTES. To accept Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 22 February 2021 (previously circulated).

5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

6. APPLICATIONS (copies of each application can be viewed online via the Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) Website – https://pa.midsussex.gov.uk/online-applications/)

6.1 DM/21/0184 Sandycoombe 25 Hurst Road Hassocks West Sussex Demolition of single storey side extension and erection of two storey side extension with erection of detached garage to front of property.

6.2 DM/21/0483 Wellhouse Wellhouse Lane Burgess Hill West Sussex RH15 0BN Two storey side extension and reconfiguration of front facade; Removal of existing rear annexe and replace with kitchen and family room; Conversion of extended loft space to create a master bedroom; Removal of existing outbuilding and replacement with a double garage with accommodation over.

6.3 DM/21/0360 10 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR Loft conversion with front dormers to create first floor. New bay window to front. (Amended description and plans 22.02.2021) 

6.4 DM/21/0692 10 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR Proposed dormer to rear roof slope. (Note proposed dormers to front roof slope subject to pending planning application DM/21/0360). (LDC).

6.5 DM/20/4253 58 Keymer Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8AR Change of use of existing shop, storage and office to dwelling (ground floor flat) with provision of entrance door and window (new) to bedroom area. Existing shop use retained to frontage.

6.6 DM/21/0461 2 Kings Drive Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8DZ Demolish the existing garage, shed and conservatory and replace with new family room building over the existing garage footprint.

6.7 DM/21/0429 11 Clayton Avenue Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HD Moving existing front door to new position to enlarge internal hallway and construction of new oak porch pitched roof canopy.

6.8 DM/21/0533 10 Fox Close Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8YG Proposed conversion of an existing detached garage into a home gym together with the erection of an adjoining bike store.

6.9 DM/21/0608 14 Friars Oak Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8PX Construction of a self-contained annexe to replace an existing garage located in the rear garden.

6.10 DM/21/0703 39 Mackie Avenue Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8NH Ground floor rear extension replacing existing structures.

6.11 DM/21/0538 6 Hassocks Gate Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9ZF Conversion of garage with new window and roller garage door. (LDC).

6.12 DM/21/0671 41 Downs View Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HY Extension and alterations to provide enlarged bedroom over existing garage to front and rear extension to provide bedroom/home office above extended kitchen with new cladding and additional small area of hard standing to drive.

6.13 DM/21/0337 The Ham 24 Hurst Road Hassocks West Sussex Driveway installation.

6.14 DM/21/0052 8 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR Demolition of existing sunroom and detached garage building. Creation of first floor in roof space with front facing dormer and two storey rear extension. Single storey side extension. Amended plans received 04.03.2021 showing reduction in depth of first floor rear extension and change to roof form and 2 no. dormer windows to front roof slope. Amended site plans received.

6.15 DM/21/0749 20 Friars Oak Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8PX Roof extension and conversion including erection of rear dormer and front roof lights.

7. APPLICATIONS FOR DISCHARGE OF PLANNING CONDITIONS. None

8. DECISION NOTICES.

9. CORRESPONDENCE. West Sussex County Council and the South Downs National Park Authority have undertaken a Soft Sand Review of the West Sussex Joint Minerals Local Plan, as required by Policy M2 of the adopted Plan.  Members are invited to note that the Inspector has now issued his report which can be viewed at www.westsussex.gov.uk/mwdf.

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

11. Date of Next Meeting: Monday 6 April 2021 at 7.30pm

Please Note
All members of the public are welcome to attend to attend meetings of the Parish Council and its Committees.

Item 4 – a period of 15 minutes will be set aside for the public statements and questions relating to the published non-confidential business of the Meeting.  It may be necessary to consider particular items in confidential session and where this arises, these items will be considered at the end of the agenda.

If you wish to attend this virtual meeting please email info@hassocks-pc.gov.uk before 9.00 hrs on the day of the meeting to be sent an electronic invitation by 12.00 noon on that same day.

FILMING, RECORDING OF COUNCIL MEETINGS AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
During this meeting members of the public may film or record the Committee and officers from the public area only providing it does not disrupt the meeting. The Confidential section of the meeting may not be filmed or recorded. If a member of the public objects to being recorded, the person(s) filming must stop doing so until that member of the public has finished speaking. The use of social media is permitted but members of the public are requested to switch their mobile devices to silent for the duration of the meeting.

Minutes

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Draft Minutes of the Planning Committee Meeting held virtually on
Monday 15 March 2021 at 7.30pm

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

In Attendance: Deputy Clerk: Tracy Forte, Cllr Sue Hatton and 5 members of the public.

P20/170 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.  There were no apologies for absence.

P20/171 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. Cllr Bill Hatton declared a personal interest in application DM/21/0461 2 Kings Drive, Hassocks.

P20/172 MINUTES. It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2021, be signed by the Chair as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

P20/173 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.  Members had received several letters of objection to DM/21/0052 8 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR which had been read and considered prior to the meeting.  Mr Jay Bishop, of Bonnywood Road, Hassocks and Mr Roy Ticehurst, of Lagwood Close, Hassocks both spoke in opposition to the application.

Mr Bishop had provided the committee with a detailed objection report prior to the meeting and summarised his objections at the meeting by explaining that he believed the proposed amendments were not sufficient to limit the unneighbourly impact of this application.  He informed the Committee that the proposed application remains to be overdevelopment and that the impact of the extension would continue to result in a significant loss of light.  There will also be a severe outlook impact for neighbouring properties and the introduction of windows onto the west elevation of the property will result in a loss of privacy for his property No 10. Mr Bishop also raised a concern over a possible anomaly in the plans which he would like clarified as it appears there is to be an increase to the roof ridge height.

Mr Ticehurst had also provided a written response to the Committee and wished to add some further personal comments with particular reference to the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan.  Mr Ticehurst noted that although the amended plans show an improved design, the overall negative impact on neighbouring properties had not changed from the original design.  Mr Ticehurst informed the Committee that the amended plan appears to have been for 15 Bonnywood Road which has a much larger garden than 8 Bonnywood Road. 8 Bonnywood Road has a very short garden and the rear extension as proposed is overbearing and will impact severely on the amenities of the neighbouring properties. Mr Ticehurst drew the Committee’s attention to the application for 10 Bonnywood Road which was for a similar increase in rooms, however had been designed in a neighbourly and considerate way.  Mr Ticehurst noted that if the owners of 8 Bonnywood Road presented a similar application, in keeping with the character of the street scene, showing respect for neighbours and the local vicinity, this would be in line with the Hassocks NP and would be a more acceptable proposal.

P20/174 The Chair proposed considering application DM/21/0052 8 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR first.  This was unanimously agreed by the Committee.

P20/175 APPLICATIONS

DM/21/0052 8 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR Demolition of existing sunroom and detached garage building. Creation of first floor in roof space with front facing dormer and two storey rear extension. Single storey side extension. Amended plans received 04.03.2021 showing reduction in depth of first floor rear extension and change to roof form and 2 no. dormer windows to front roof slope. Amended site plans received. Response: RECOMMEND REFUSAL   Despite the amendments, this application remains unneighbourly and represents overdevelopment of the site, and is therefore contrary to Character and Design, Policy 9, of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan and Policy DP26 of the District Plan. The proposed dwelling would be highly detrimental to the amenities of the existing nearby residents, impacting on privacy, outlook, daylight and sunlight.  The application does not respect the character or scale of the surrounding buildings and would be detrimental to the street scene.  Furthermore, the proposed design of this extension and the negative impact it would have on neighbouring properties, make it contrary to principles DG49 and DG50 and DG52 of the Mid Sussex Design Guide.

4 Members of the Public and Cllr Sue Hatton left the meeting.

DM/21/0184 Sandycoombe 25 Hurst Road Hassocks West Sussex Demolition of single storey side extension and erection of two storey side extension with erection of detached garage to front of property. Response: RECOMMEND REFUSAL.  The positioning and design of the garage is not in keeping with the character of the locality and the street scene and is therefore contrary to Character and Design, Policy 9, of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan and Policy DP26 of the District Plan. The Council is also concerned that the impact of the proposed development to the main building on the tree with a TPO has not been considered.

DM/21/0483 Wellhouse Wellhouse Lane Burgess Hill West Sussex RH15 0BN Two storey side extension and reconfiguration of front facade; Removal of existing rear annexe and replace with kitchen and family room; Conversion of extended loft space to create a master bedroom; Removal of existing outbuilding and replacement with a double garage with accommodation over. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL with a reminder of the necessity for compliance with Policy 5 of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan, Enabling Zero Carbon.

DM/21/0360 10 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR  Loft conversion with front dormers to create first floor. New bay window to front. (Amended description and plans 22.02.2021). Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL

DM/21/0692 10 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR Proposed dormer to rear roof slope. (Note proposed dormers to front roof slope subject to pending planning application DM/21/0360). (LDC). Response: NOTED

The remaining member of the Public left the meeting.

DM/20/4253 58 Keymer Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8AR Change of use of existing shop, storage and office to dwelling (ground floor flat) with provision of entrance door and window (new) to bedroom area. Existing shop use retained to frontage. Response: RECOMMEND REFUSAL.  The removal of all amenities from the shop leaving little more than a small front area will result in this building no longer being viable as a shop.  Therefore the proposal will very likely result in a loss of a shop and will have a detrimental impact on the sustainability of the village centre.

It was noted that this application had prompted the correspondence to MSDC as agreed at the previous Planning meeting (22.2.21), requesting clarity on the specific criteria for commenting on for Permitted Development applications.  A response had been received from MSDC stating that this could not be provided directly, although application forms should provide what Permitted Development rights are being applied for.  However it was felt that it is not always that clear to establish this information from the application forms.

DM/21/0461 2 Kings Drive Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8DZ Demolish the existing garage, shed and conservatory and replace with new family room building over the existing garage footprint.  Cllr Bill Hatton refrained from any participation in consideration of this application Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL with a reminder of the necessity for compliance with Policy 5 of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan, Enabling Zero Carbon.

DM/21/0429 11 Clayton Avenue Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HD Moving existing front door to new position to enlarge internal hallway and construction of new oak porch pitched roof canopy. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL.

DM/21/0533 10 Fox Close Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8YG Proposed conversion of an existing detached garage into a home gym together with the erection of an adjoining bike store. Response:  RECOMMEND APPROVAL subject to sufficient parking spaces being provided.  The Council would like to draw attention to the poor quality of the application which was very difficult to read.

DM/21/0608 14 Friars Oak Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8PX Construction of a self-contained annexe to replace an existing garage located in the rear garden. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL with a reminder of the necessity for compliance with Policy 5 of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan, Enabling Zero Carbon.

DM/21/0703 39 Mackie Avenue Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8NH Ground floor rear extension replacing existing structures. Response:  This application could not be considered due to there being no application documents available to view on the portal.  Therefore the Council cannot submit a comment until these are uploaded.

DM/21/0538 6 Hassocks Gate Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9ZF Conversion of garage with new window and roller garage door. (LDC). Response: NOTED.

DM/21/0671 41 Downs View Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HY Extension and alterations to provide enlarged bedroom over existing garage to front and rear extension to provide bedroom/home office above extended kitchen with new cladding and additional small area of hard standing to drive. Response: RECOMMEND REFUSAL.  The proposed development above the garage is unneighbourly.  It is overdevelopment and out of keeping with the character of the street scene, and is therefore contrary to Character and Design, Policy 9, of the Hassocks Neighbourhood Plan and Policy DP26 of the District Plan.

DM/21/0337 The Ham 24 Hurst Road Hassocks West Sussex Driveway installation. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL subject to clarification of boundary details.

DM/21/0749 20 Friars Oak Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8PX Roof extension and conversion including erection of rear dormer and front roof lights. (LDC) Response: NOTED.

The following Prior Notification was reported for information only:

SDNP/21/00547/APNB New Way Lane Clayton West Sussex BN6 6PP. Prior approval for a new agricultural unit 3.05m wide by 4.57m in length and 2.36m in height under The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) – Schedule 2, Part 6. 

P20/176 APPLICATIONS FOR DISCHARGE OF PLANNING CONDITIONS. There were none.

P20/177 RESOLVED that the observations on the planning issues as agreed above be submitted to the relevant Planning Authority for consideration.

P20/178 PLANNING AUTHORITY DECISION NOTICES

The following decisions were noted:

Application details Hassocks PC recommendation to Planning Authority Planning Authority Decision (MSDC/SDNP)
DM/21/0036 28 Stonepound Road, Hassocks BN6 8PR Recommend Approval Permission Granted
DM/21/0160 20 Ockenden Way, Hassocks BN6 8HS Recommend Approval Permission Granted
DM/20/4539 Barn Cottage, Ockley Lane, Hassocks Recommend Refusal Permission Granted
DM/21/0162 21 Hurst Road, Hassocks BN6 9NJ Recommend Approval Permission Granted
DM/21/0110 29 Priory Road, Hassocks BN6 8PS Recommend Approval Permission Granted
DM/20/4484 The Cottage, South Bank, Hassocks Recommend Approval Permission Granted

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

Application details Hassocks PC recommendation to Planning Authority Planning Authority Decision (MSDC/SDNP)
DM/21/0224 10 Oak Tree Drive, Hassocks, BN6 8YD (LDC) Noted Certificate of Lawful development Issued
DM/20/4648 10 Fox Close, Hassocks BN6 8YG Noted Certificate of Lawful development Issued

The following Application for Discharge of Planning Condition was noted:

Application details Hassocks PC recommendation to Planning Authority Planning Authority Decision (MSDC/SDNP)
DM/20/4208 Mama Ghanoushe, 31 Keymer Road, Hassocks Noted Granted

P20/179 CORRESPONDENCE. West Sussex County Council and the South Downs National Park Authority have undertaken a Soft Sand Review of the West Sussex Joint Minerals Local Plan, as required by Policy M2 of the adopted Plan.  Members were invited to note that the Inspector has now issued his report which can be viewed at www.westsussex.gov.uk/mwdf.  This was noted.

P20/180 Urgent Matters at the discretion of the Chairman for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda. There were no urgent matters.  

P20/181 DATE OF NEXT MEETING.   It was noted that the next meeting is to be held on Tuesday 6 April at 7.30pm, not Monday 6 April as shown in the agenda.

There being no other business the Chair closed the meeting at 9.20pm