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 as 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 Paul Baker declared an interest in Item 5.1 in his role as Vice President of Worthing Rugby Club as South Coast Nursing Home Limited was one of their main sponsors, and Item 5.5 as a former employee of Glaxo Smithkline.  The Councillor advised he came to the meeting with an open mind.

Councillor Noel Atkins declared an interest in Item 5.1 as a resident of Heene Ward, Item 5.4 as a previous member of Jubilee Church and Item 7 as an elected Member of WSCC.

Councillor Helen Silman declared an interest in Item 5.1 as Heene Ward Councillor and  had been contacted by residents in connection with the application, but had not predetermined the outcome of the decision.

Councillor Steve Wills declared an interest in Item 5.1 as a resident of Heene Ward.

Councillor Paul High declared an interest in Item 5.1 as a Ward Councillor for Heene and Item 7 as an elected Member of WSCC. 

Councillor Jim Deen declared an interest in Item 5.2 as he was employed by The Wheatsheaf Public House for three years when he first moved to Worthing.

To approve the minutes of the Planning Committee meetings of the Committee held on Wednesday 22 January 2020, which have been emailed to Members.

RESOLVED, that the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 22 January 2020 be confirmed as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

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

There were no items raised under urgency provisions.

To consider the reports by the Director for the Economy, attached as Item 5.

1

The Planning Services Manager advised there were no further updates to the report and began his presentation by outlining the application and showing an aerial view of the site. 

The Officer advised Members that planning permission for the site had been granted in 2017 and remained extant i.e. capable of implementation.  He added that at present the majority of the building had been demolished, with just the right hand corner still remaining.

Members were shown a number of plans, which included a tree retention plan, to assist in their consideration of the application.  The Officer made reference to the Council’s Tree and Landscape Officer comments within the report.  The Planning Services Manager concluded his presentation by showing a number of photographs and advising the recommendation was to grant permission.

Members raised queries with the Officer, which were answered in turn to the Members’ satisfaction.  In summary, these included:-

• clarification as to the location of trees with TPOs;
• the trees to be retained and location of new trees to be planted; 
• whether there was a need for a large Nursing Home in Worthing; and
• how the application had been amended since the 2017 planning permission.

There were further representations from:-

Objectors:       Lisa Leach

                        Alex Muraru

Emma Taylor

Supporters:     Michael Pirrie (agent)

                        Patrick Colville (applicant)

Members began their debate on the proposal and their main concern related to the proposed felling of a large number of trees on the site.  A Member felt the removal and replanting of trees could be phased in an effort to protect the wildlife and reduce the impact of the development.  

A Member raised the fact that the original planning permission granted in 2017 had permitted all but 6 of the trees to be felled anyway.  The Officer agreed that Members, in many respects, were in a potentially more advantageous position than the previous consent in 2017.

In conclusion, the majority of Members agreed with the Officer’s recommendation to approve the application however, they requested a more detailed landscape condition to specify the phasing and replanting of trees and shrubbery in consultation with the Chairman and Ward Councillors. 

Decision

That the planning application be APPROVED, subject to a detailed landscaping condition to precisely specify the phasing of both the removal and replanting of trees and shrubbery in consultation with the Chairman and Ward Councillors, and to the following conditions:- 

1.       Standard 3 year time limit

2.       Approved Plans

3.       Agree sample materials and finishes of external walls, roofs, windows and doors

4.       Agree architectural details (including all windows/rooflights, architectural details of replica villa, balconies, green roofs, ‘seamless’ glazing and roof details of glazed links etc.)  

5.       Permeable car park surface details to be agreed

6.       Parking and access to be provided prior to first occupation

7.  ...  view the full minutes text for item WBC-PC/62/19-20

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

Where relevant notice of a question has not been given, the person presiding may either choose to give a response at the meeting or respond by undertaking to provide a written response within three working days.

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

The Planning Services Manager outlined the report for Members’ consideration and comment. 

Members made no specific comments but felt it was a useful tool for Members and Officers alike and felt the Parking Guidance should be adopted.

Decision

Members of the Committee raised no comments on the Adoption of the West Sussex County Council Parking Guidance.

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

The Planning Services Manager outlined the report for Members’ consideration and comment.

Members made no specific comments but agreed to the use of the guidance.

Decision

Members of the Committee raised no comments on the Air Quality and Emissions Guidance for Sussex (January 2020) to be used as a material consideration when determining any relevant planning applications.

To consider a report by the Monitoring Officer, attached as Item 9.

The Lawyer outlined the report for Members which sought to update and amend the Council’s existing arrangements in respect of public speaking at the Adur and Worthing Planning Committees.

The Officer referred Members to 4.2.2, 4.2.3 and 4.2.4 of the report which specifically related to Worthing Borough Council.  

Under 4.2.2, in the interests of efficiency, there would be a restriction of two Councillors being able to speak, subject to one speaking for and one against.  Under 4.2.3 this would restrict Councillors to a speaking allowance of 3 minutes in place of 5 minutes, and under 4.2.4 would enable the Chairman to waive the Protocol.

The Officer referred Members to the second part of the report in relation to the Joint Officer Scheme of Delegations.  Three of the eight bullet points under that section were to be amended as per the report and the Officer outlined the changes for Members.

The Chairman supported the changes however, with reference to 4.2.2 of the report suggested the wording be amended as follows:-

The current Worthing Borough Council Protocol on Public Speaking at Planning Committee enables each Ward Councillor to speak, or two Ward Councillors and one Councillor from an adjacent Ward, or in exceptional circumstances another Borough Councillor…….  

The Committee Members agreed to the changes to 4.2.2 of the report.

Decision

The Worthing Planning Committee considered the report and agreed to forward comments to the Joint Governance Committee to be held on 24 March 2020.