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Lewes and Eastbourne
Councils

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Court Room at Eastbourne Town Hall, Grove Road, BN21 4UG

Contact: Committee Services on 01323 410000 

Items
No. Item

59.

Minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2019 pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 2019 were submitted to and approved as a correct record, and the Chair was authorised to sign them.

60.

Apologies for absence and notification of substitute members

Minutes:

There were no apologies given and there were no notifications of substitute Members.

 

61.

Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) by members as required under Section 31 of the Localism Act and of other interests as required by the Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

Councillor Barry Taylor declared a Prejudicial Interest in minute 65, 282 Kings Drive as he was the owner of a care home. He withdrew from the room while the item was considered and did not vote.

 

62.

Urgent items of business.

The Chairman to notify the Committee of any items of urgent business to be added to the agenda.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

63.

Right to address the meeting/order of business.

The Chairman to report any requests received to address the Committee from a member of the public or from a Councillor in respect of planning applications/items listed and that these applications/items are taken at the commencement of the meeting.

Minutes:

The business of the meeting was reordered from the agenda in the following order. 

 

64.

First Church of Christ Scientist, Spencer Road. Application ID: 190461 pdf icon PDF 161 KB

Minutes:

Planning permission for the addition of internal second floor with conversion of main building to provide 6no. self-contained flats with conversion of single storey rear element to provide 1no. self-contained flat – MEADS

 

Amendments to the report were noted in the Addendum.

 

Peter Jeffreys, local resident, addressed the committee in objection to the application on grounds of overlooking/loss of privacy, density, building height, fire safety and parking.

 

David Challinor, agent, said the windows had been angled and balconies screened to reduce the effects of overlooking.  He said the application had not increased in height and that fire safety matters would be covered by Building Regulations. Furthermore, Highways had not objected to the application. 

 

The Committee discussed the application and were of a mixed opinion.  Members raised concern at the lack of parking and amenity space, stating that the fire authority should be consulted earlier in the process and that the scheme could be improved if the number of dwellings were reduced.

Members also stated that they were happy with the steps taken to reduce overlooking and that the reduction in car parking spaces will help reduce carbon footprint.

 

Councillor Murray proposed a motion to approve the application. This was seconded by Councillor Vaughan.

 

Resolved (by 5 votes for and 3 against): That permission be approved as set out in the report and addendum.

 

65.

282 Kings Drive. Application ID: 181178 pdf icon PDF 645 KB

Minutes:

Planning permission for demolition of existing house and associated structures and provision of 85 bed care home with parking, landscaping and highway access - RATTON.

 

Having declared a prejudicial Interest, Councillor Barry Taylor was absent from the room during discussion and voting on this item.

 

This application had been brought back to Committee following deferral to mitigate concerns raised by the Committee concerning scale and impact of the development. The applicant had made several alterations to the scheme to address these concerns.

 

Amendments to the report were noted in the Addendum.

 

Dr. Roland Cottingham, Chair of Kings Drive, addressed the Committee in objection, referring to the loss of light, overdevelopment, and the accuracy of the Daylight Assessment report. He urged the committee to refuse the application.

 

Councillor Freebody, Ward Councillor, addressed the Committee (from the public gallery) in objection to the application.  He referred to loss of light, privacy, overdevelopment and the proximity of the development to 284 Kings Drive. He raised concern that the Daylight Assessment report was undertaken remotely using Google Maps to determine the measurements.

 

Alison Knight, agent, explained that she had addressed the concerns raised by the Committee at its previous meeting, stating that a Daylight Impact Assessment report had been submitted as requested and an additional condition had been added to secure a local labour agreement. She said no objections had been received regarding the application from statutory consultees and the application had been recommended for approval by Officers twice before at committee.

 

Members were informed that the Daylight Assessment was performed in accordance with the methodology set out in the Building Research Establishment (BRE) document BR209 – Site Layout Planning for Sunlight and Daylight: A Guide to Good Practice (2011).

 

Councillor Murray proposed a motion to approve the application. This was seconded by Councillor Diplock.

 

Resolved (by 5 votes for and 2 against): That permission be approved as set out in the report.

66.

Langney Shopping Centre Car Valet, Langney Shopping Centre, 64 Kingfisher Drive. Application ID: 190604 pdf icon PDF 259 KB

Minutes:

Planning permission for erection of 10 houses together with parking and installation of crossover onto Swanley Close - LANGNEY.

 

Amendments to the report were noted in the Addendum.

 

Donna St.Claire, local resident, addressed the Committee in objection, raising concern regarding the proposed site entrance, stating that Swanley Close was too narrow and the access point should be from the northern boundary at Langney Rise, where the impact will be less. She also raised concerns regarding parking restrictions, flooding and loss of privacy. 

 

Mr Pickup, agent, addressed the Committee in support, stating that no highway objections had been received and that applicant had entered into a S106 agreement to secure £5,000 contribution towards investigating the installation of a Traffic Regulation Order for parking restrictions.  He said the Local Authority were satisfied with the flood risk assessment submitted. 

 

The Committee discussed the application and expressed concern regarding the entrance to the site and overlooking.

 

Members were advised that the land was owned by Langney Shopping Centre and that an alternative access point would need their consent.

 

Councillor Lamb proposed a motion to defer the application. This was seconded by Councillor Taylor. 

 

Resolved (Unanimous): That permission be deferred to enable the developer to negotiate an alternative access with Langney Shopping Centre.

 

67.

Wood's Cottages, Langney Rise. Application ID: 190339 pdf icon PDF 405 KB

Minutes:

Planning permission for redevelopment of site to form 35 dwellings, formed of 1 one bedroom flat, 10 two bedroom flats, 19 three bedroom houses, 5 four bedroom houses – LANGNEY.

 

This application had been brought back to Committee following deferral by the Committee to allow the developer and planning team to liaise on the viability of an alternative access to the proposed development.  In response, the applicant has altered the access and moved it to the south of the site, to the west of 33 Swanley Close, opposite No 4 & 5 Swanley Close.

 

Amendments to the report were noted in the Addendum.

 

Amanda Rock, local resident, addressed the Committee in objection to the application.  She raised concern regarding flooding, traffic, noise pollution, loss of woodland and parking spaces.

 

The Chair referred to a written representation from Councillor Shuttleworth, Ward Councillor for Langney, stating that he was in support of the development, but agreed with resident’s concerns regarding loss of trees and impact on wildlife.

 

Mr Singh, applicant, was present, but chose not to speak.

 

The Committee were informed that concerns raised regarding trees and surface water where covered by condition which must be approved prior to commencement of development. 

 

The Committee discussed the location of the revised access stating that they had addressed the resident’s request for it to be repositioned and felt it was better suited to the new location. They supported the relocation of the pond; reintroduction of wildlife and replacement of trees. 

 

Councillor Murray proposed a motion to approve the application. This was seconded by Councillor Miah.

 

Resolved (Unanimous): That permission be approved subject to Recommendation 2-6 of the officers report being satisfactorily concluded. And subject to conditions and Section 106 Agreement to include affordable housing and a local labour agreement, as set out in the report.

 

68.

Land South of Langney Shopping Centre and West of Langney Rise. Application ID: 190668 pdf icon PDF 162 KB

Minutes:

Planning permission for development of 9 houses - LANGNEY.

 

Amendments to the report were noted in the Addendum.

 

The Land Contamination condition was amended verbally:-

Prior to the first occupation of the development hereby approved, testing results for any imported soils, as recommended by the Combined Geotechnical and Ground Contamination Risk Assessment by Ashdown Site Investigation Ltd, dated July 2019, shall be carried out by a suitably qualified land contamination specialist and the results submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority all other recommendations contained within the above assessment shall be carried out to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority and if during construction contamination not previously identified is found to be present at the site then no further development on that part of the site (unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority) shall be carried out until the developer has submitted a remediation strategy to the Local Planning Authority detailing how this unsuspected contamination shall be dealt with and written approval for the associated strategy has been obtained from the Local Planning Authority. The remediation strategy shall be implemented as approved.

Reason: To ensure that the resulting site does not compromise any contamination to protect future occupants and local water sources from unacceptable levels of pollution.

 

Members welcomed the addition of new housing in the area. 

 

Councillor Vaughan proposed a motion to approve the application. This was seconded by Councillor Miah. 

 

Resolved (Unanimous): That permission be approved subject to no new issues being raised from the Consultation to delegate to Head of Planning in consultation with the Chair of Planning Committee to Grant Planning permission subject to conditions as set out the report and addendum.

 

69.

42-44 Meads Street. Application ID: 190717 pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Minutes:

Planning permission for a single storey extension and re-siting of kitchen extract (retrospective application) - MEADS.

 

This application had been brought to committee at the request of the Meads Ward Councillor, Councillor Taylor.

 

The Committee discussed the application and felt that the design of the kitchen extractor fan was over sized and engineered.  Concern was raised regarding noise, emissions, location, impact on the Conservation Area and effect on the local residents.

 

The Committee were informed that no complaints had been received regarding the retrospective application. Officers advised that it was not possible to position the kitchen extractor fan vertically on the building due to ownership issues and impact on the Conservation Area.  The extractor fan will be painted black and boxed in within 6 months of the date of permission, to reduce noise emissions and comply with the Noise Impact Assessment submitted, as per condition 2 of the report.

 

A motion to refuse the application, proposed by Councillor Taylor and seconded by Councillor Lamb, was lost by three votes for to five against refusal.

 

Councillor Murray proposed a motion to approve the application as set out in the report. This was seconded by Councillor Diplock. 

 

Resolved (by 5 votes for and 3 votes against): That permission be approved as set out in the report.

 

70.

6 Jellicoe Close. Application ID: 190751 pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Minutes:

Planning permission to extend existing side wall - SOVEREIGN.

 

Members were informed that this application had been brought to committee as the applicant is a member of staff.

 

Councillor Miah proposed a motion to approve the application. This was seconded by Councillor Metcalfe. 

 

Resolved (Unanimous): That permission be approved as set out in the report.

 

71.

Appeal Summary pdf icon PDF 162 KB

Minutes:

Members noted the summary report of appeal decisions between October and November 2019.

 

Flat 1, 17 Enys Road, Eastbourne.  ID: 180933.  Appeal dismissed.

 

Spring Mead, 25 Meads Brow, Eastbourne.  ID: 181058.  Appeal allowed.

 

131 Southern Road, Eastbourne.  ID: 190132.  Appeal allowed.

 

 

72.

South Down National Park Authority Planning Applications (Verbal update)

Minutes:

There were none.

73.

Addendum Report to the Planning Committee 10 December 2019 pdf icon PDF 92 KB