Planning Committee

Minutes

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the PLANNING COMMITTEE Meeting held on Monday 14 August 2023 at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks

Attendees: Parish Councillors: Cllr Kristian Berggreen, Cllr Robert Brewer and Cllr Don McBeth.

In Attendance: Deputy Clerk – Tracy Forte.  3 members of the public.

P23/51 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Carolyn Barton, Bill Hatton and Angus Neil.

P23/52 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. There were no declarations of interest.

P23/53 MINUTES.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 24 July 2023 be signed by the Chair as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

P23/54 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. There were three members of the public present.

Sallie White spoke in opposition to application DM/23/0543 12 Abbots Close Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8PH.   Her property in Friars Oak Road borders the rear of 12 Abbots Close and is the closest property to the rear boundary.  Ms White outlined her main concerns and informed the Committee that she had already submitted her comments to Mid Sussex District Council.  She acknowledged the amendments that had already been made to the application, however shared her concerns that the proposed application remains overbearing and would be overlooking her property, resulting in a loss of light and a reduced skyline.  Ms White also noted that whilst the dormers had reduced slightly in size, the ridge height of the roof had increased which would add to the intrusiveness of the dwelling.  She also felt that the application was not in keeping with the locality.

The applicants, Sarah Woods and Olly Thomas spoke in support of the same application.   Ms Woods noted that Abbots Close comprised of a mixture of semi-detached houses and bungalows and two detached bungalows. Two bungalows have already carried out similar loft conversions and Ms Woods said that they had tried hard to ensure this application was in keeping with the other properties.  She informed the Committee that they have addressed the overlooking issues which were previously raised as concerns and have used obscure glass in the only overlooking window.  Mr Thomas explained that they had worked with the Planning Officer to ensure the application met all design requirements and that the roof ridge height had been increased at the request of the Planning Officer to create a visible gap between the dormer and the roof ridge. He also reported that the boundary between the proposed dwelling and the nearest property comfortably exceeds the minimum requirement between dwellings.

P23/55 APPLICATIONS

DM/23/0543 12 Abbots Close Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8PH Proposed ground floor rear window amendments to provide 2 sets of bi-fold doors within existing openings on to garden. A loft conversion to provide additional bedrooms, inc. 2 juliette balconies to the rear, family bathroom and office space. Amended plans received 19.07.2023 showing revisions to scheme to include proposed increased in height of roof, new dormer window to front roof slope, reduction in size of dormer window to rear roof slope, removal of juliette style balconies and amendments to internal layout. New Replacement windows also proposed. Response: RECOMMEND REFUSAL. This application is overbearing and unneighbourly and is therefore contrary to Character and Design; HNP Policy 9 and MSDC Policy DP26.

The three members of the public left the meeting.

DM/23/1829 8 Dale Avenue Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8LP Application for a Certificate of Lawful Existing Use for the erection of ground floor extensions and loft conversion. (LDC). Response: NOTED

DM/23/1911 2 Parkside Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8BL Proposed two storey rear 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/23/1914 6 Bonny Wood Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8HR Erection of a single storey flat roof garage to the side of the property. (LDC). Response: NOTED

DM/23/1928 Land To The Rear Of Friars Oak London Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9NA Variation of condition 9 of application DM/21/2628 to updated plans to show sub-station and new location. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL.  

DM/23/1999 31 North Court Hassocks West Sussex BN6 8JS Scots pine (T1) Fell. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL subject to the Tree Officer’s confirmation that felling is necessary due to the condition of the tree.

DM/23/1905 South Bank Lodge Brighton Road Hassocks West Sussex Creation of two flats through the subdivision of lower ground floor flat and subdivision and extension of first floor flat. Response: RECOMMEND APPROVAL. However the Committee had some concerns over the potential lack of parking for residents with the creation of an additional flat. 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.

P23/56 APPLICATIONS FOR DISCHARGE OF PLANNING CONDITIONS.  The Committee noted the following applications for discharge of planning conditions.

DM/23/1995 Land North Of Clayton Mills Ockley Lane Hassocks West Sussex   Discharge of condition 26 of application DM/18/4979.

DM/23/1984 Site Of The Former Mill Nursery London Road Hassocks West Sussex    Discharge of condition 13 of application DM/23/1150.

DM/23/1931 Friars Oak London Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9NA    Discharge of condition 3 of application DM/21/2628.

DM/23/1930 Friars Oak London Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9NA   Discharge of condition 4 of application DM/21/2628.

DM/23/1929 Friars Oak London Road Hassocks West Sussex BN6 9NA  Discharge of condition 9 of application DM/21/2628.

P23/57 RESOLVED that the observations on the planning issues as agreed above be submitted to the relevant Planning Authority for consideration.

P23/58 PLANNING AUTHORITY DECISION NOTICES

The following decisions were noted:

P23/59 PROPOSED TELECOMMUNICATIONS INSTALLATION – HASSOCKS STATION GOODS YARD.  Members noted correspondence and pre-application information regarding a proposal by Cellnex to install mobile phone communications apparatus at the above site. (Appendices 1&2 of the agenda)

P23/60 LAND TO THE REAR OF THE FRIARS OAK. 

P23/60.1 Members noted correspondence from O’Halloran & O’Brien Ltd providing information on forthcoming highways works being undertaken relating to the development on the site to the rear of the Friars Oak. O’Halloran & O’Brien Ltd have been appointed by Taylor Wimpey to develop the Friars Oak site into a new Residential Development.

P23/60.2 With the approval of the Chair, the Deputy Clerk provided a verbal update regarding recent concerns over the temporary closure of Footpath 5K for the duration of the development work on the Land to the Rear of the Friars Oak.

Following concerns raised by residents and Councillors regarding the closure of Public Right Of Way 5K (PROW), the WSCC PROW Officer had been contacted.  It was suggested that that whilst work was being undertaken on the bridge access from London Road, the footpath could be subject to a temporary diversion which allowed access via Shepherds Walk heading east to the railway underpass.

The PROW Officer raised this with the developer, however the developer stated that the temporary path closure has been issued for protecting public safety while development works are undertaken.

The PROW Officer noted that it is for the developer to undertake the necessary risk assessment to determine if public access can be safely maintained or not.

The temporary closure therefore currently remains in place for the whole length of the path.

Since then, Cllr Ian Weir has been in contact with the developer and is currently in communication with their Technical Manager.

It is anticipated that a Site Manager will be allocated very soon and it has been agreed that a site walk will be arranged between Cllr Weir and the Site Manager to explore whether the closure of the whole path needs to be for such an extended period and whether a safe access route can be put in place during some of the work.

The Committee will be updated on the outcome at a future meeting.

P23/61 Urgent Matters at the discretion of the Chairman for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda.  There were no urgent matters.

P23/62 DATE OF NEXT MEETING. 4 September 2023

There being no other business the Chair closed the meeting at 8.25pm