Agenda and minutes

Any substitute members should declare their substitution.

There were no substitute Members.

Members and Officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to any business on the agenda.  Declarations should also be made at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting.

Members and Officers may seek advice upon any relevant interest from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting.

Councillor Joss Loader declared an interest on item 6.1 AWDM/1085/20, 66 Old Fort Road, as one of the registered speakers was making a representation on behalf of Shoreham Beach Residents’ Association.  Councillor Joss Loader advised she had not taken part in any discussions on the application and came to the meeting with an open mind.

Councillor Paul Mansfield declared an interest on item 6.1 AWDM/1085/20, 66 Old Fort Road, as he was good friends with the applicant’s father but did not know the applicant.  The Councillor also declared an interest in item 7 Sompting Parish Neighbourhood Plan - Regulation 14 Consultation - Response from Adur District Council as a Parish Councillor.  He stated he had not been involved with the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan.

So as to provide the best opportunity for the Committee to provide the public with the fullest answer, questions from the public should be submitted by midday on Thursday 4 February 2021.

Where meetings are held remotely, no question will be permitted from the public unless such notice has been given.

Questions should be submitted to Democratic Services –

democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

(Note: Public Question Time will last for a maximum of 30 minutes)

There were no questions raised under Public Question Time.

To approve the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 11 January 2021, which have been emailed to Members.

RESOLVED, that the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 11 January 2021 be confirmed as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

A recorded vote was taken by the Democratic Services Officer which was as follows:

For: Councillors Carol Albury, Stephen Chipp, David Balfe, Kevin Boram, Brian Coomber, Lee Cowen, Joss Loader and Paul Mansfield.

To consider any items the Chair of the meeting considers urgent.

There were no items raised under urgency provisions.

To consider a report by the Director for the Economy, attached as Item 6.

The planning applications were considered, see attached appendix. 

To consider a report by the Director for the Economy, attached as Item 7.

The Planning Policy Manager introduced the report which related to the Adur District Council response to the Sompting Parish Neighbourhood Plan.  The Officer advised the Parish had been working on the Plan for some time and a version had been taken to examination in 2018.  However, that version had been removed by the Parish themselves and since that time they had been working on a revised version.    

The Officer advised it was the first consultation on the revised document, which included development related to rural businesses and a community farm within the Local Green Gap.  The Plan also incorporated a Housing Estates and Design Guide.

The Officer referred Members to Appendix 1, which were comments that Adur Officers had made on the consultation draft, and it was hoped the Parish Councillors would find these useful when further developing their Plan.

In conclusion, the Officer advised Members of an amendment to the recommendation within the report under 6.1 2). to state:-

Any comments from the Committee are collated and forwarded to the Leader of the Council for consultation, and then submitted as ADC’s formal response to the Draft Sompting Parish Neighbourhood Plan.

The Officer advised it had been agreed that as the Executive Member for Regeneration sat on the Sompting Parish Council it would be preferable for the Leader of the Council to collate and forward comments for consultation.  

The Planning Policy Manager invited Members to put forward any questions or comments.

A Member referred to Appendix 1, page 63, Policy 9, where Dankton Lane was mentioned as a potential site for health and wellbeing uses, and Officers had asked the Parish to define health and wellbeing uses.  The Member queried how specific they needed to be and the Officer responded by advising that the Parish needed to define their terms, e.g. whether considering outdoor gym equipment or the potential for a building to be used as a gym.  

Another Member questioned whether the Neighbourhood Plan had to be submitted to the Inspector/Secretary of State.  The Officer advised there was a statutory process set out in the Neighbourhood Planning Act.  In summary, once the Parish had made revisions, there would be further consultations, which the District Council would lead on, and then it would go to examination. Should the Plan get  through  , there would be a referendum and if  this were successful, their Plan would become part of the Development Plan.  

The Member thanked the Adur Officers for advising Sompting Parish Council how to put together a clear and detailed Neighbourhood Plan.

Decision

The Planning Committee considered the  proposed consultation response set out in Appendix 1 and agreed comments would be collated and forwarded to the Leader of the Council for consultation, and then submitted as ADC’s formal response to the Draft Sompting Parish Neighbourhood Plan.

To consider a report by the Director for the Economy, attached as Item 8.

The Planning Policy Manager introduced the report and reminded Members a guide had been produced back in 2007 and that the one before them now was an updated version of the document to reflect changes in planning policy, and the creation of the Adur Tidal Walls and the Marine Management Organisation. Consultation had taken place with various bodies, including residents of the Houseboats. 

The Officer advised a revised version of the Guide (January 2021) had been circulated prior to the meeting.

The Planning Policy Manager invited Members to put forward any queries or comments.

A Member referred to 3.2 of the guide which stated that planning permission would be required for fences over 2 metres and said he felt that was high for a fence and could block views of the estuary.  He then referred to 7.3 of the guide which stated fences should be kept low, up to 1 metre, and therefore sought clarification.  

The Planning Services Manager advised that the normal rules for fences, that were not adjacent to a road or public footpath, were that they could be built up to 2 metres without planning permission, potentially blocking views  However, the Officer agreed it was tall in that particular area, hence, Officers had stated it was preferred that fences were only erected if necessary, and kept to 1 metre.  He said that unfortunately, in certain locations, if they were between 1 and 2 metres in height they would not require planning permission but felt the guide was correct in stating the Council’s preference. 

The Member raised a further query regarding the discharge of sewage and that the guide stated it was preferable that discharge of untreated sewage and other wastes to the estuary were avoided however, he felt it should be ceased altogether.  The Officer referred the Member to 11.2 of the guide which stated that at present there was not a financially viable solution to the issue.  Members were concerned  at this situation and asked that this, and their concerns regarding tall fences be forwarded to the Executive Member for Regeneration.         

Members thanked Officers for the time spent on reviewing the guide.

Decision

The Planning Committee noted the contents of the document and any comments would be forwarded to the Executive Member for Regeneration.