Democracy in Crawley

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Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

Councillor Jhans

The Chair welcomed Councillor Jhans to the meeting following his recent appointment to the Planning Committee.

1.

Disclosures of Interest

In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, Councillors of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to declare interests where appropriate.

 

Minutes:

The following disclosure of interest was made:

 

Councillor

Item and Minute

Type and Nature of Disclosure

 

Councillor P C Smith

CR/2019/0696/FUL – Land Parcel at Jersey Farm, County Oak Lane, Langley Green, Crawley (Minute 5)

Personal Interest - Local Authority Director of the Manor Royal Business Improvement District

 

2.

Lobbying Declarations

The Planning Code of Conduct requires Councillors who have been lobbied, received correspondence or been approached by an interested party with respect to any planning matter should declare this at the meeting which discusses the matter. Councillors should declare if they have been lobbied at this point in the agenda.

 

Minutes:

No lobbying declarations were made.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 221 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 17 December 2019.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 17 December 2019 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

4.

Planning Application CR/2019/0589/FUL - Sullivan Drive, Bewbush, Crawley pdf icon PDF 491 KB

To consider report PES/328a of the Head of Economy and Planning.

 

RECOMMENDATION to PERMIT

Minutes:

The Committee considered report PES/328a of the Head of Economy and Planning which proposed as follows:

 

Construction of a bus gate to enable buses to pass between the residential neighbourhoods of Bewbush and Kilnwood Vale along with associated pedestrian walkway, drainage and landscaping (amended plans received).

 

Councillors A Belben, Jaggard, and Purdy declared they had visited the site.

 

The Group Manager (Development Management) provided a verbal summation of the application and updated the Committee following further information from the applicant.  Additional comments had been made by the British Horse Society regarding the level of use of the bus gate and the visibility for equestrians at the new crossing, to which reassurance had been provided.  It was also confirmed that cyclists would have a legal right to use the bus gate.

 

The Group Manager (Development Management) advised that, due to the lack of provision of a cross section drawing by the applicant, an amendment to bullet point 3 of condition 7 was required to allow the drawing to be provided as part of the landscaping condition.  It was therefore proposed that bullet point 3 of condition 7 be amended to read:

 

Details of all fencing to include the proposed boundary treatment for the rear boundaries of numbers 37-42 Manor Fields to be informed by a detailed cross section drawing showing the change in levels between the rear gardens and carriageway.”

 

The Committee was also informed that an additional condition (to be condition 10) was proposed which required the completion of a noise survey by the applicant.  The proposed condition was suggested to satisfy the Council’s Environmental Health team’s request that further information about the noise impact on residents be provided.  Proposed new condition 10 would therefore read:

 

The development hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless and until there has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority in writing a Noise Survey and a detailed scheme of mitigation.  The agreed mitigation measures shall be implemented prior to the first use of the bus gate.

 

REASON: To safeguard the amenity of occupiers of noise sensitive properties in accordance with policy ENV11 of the Crawley Borough Local Plan 2015-2030.”

 

John Zebedee spoke in objection to the application.  Concerns were raised regarding the diversion of the bus route and in turn, the potential for the loss of bus stops on Sullivan Drive.  This was said to inhibit accessibility for local Bewbush residents, particularly those who were elderly or less able-bodied.

 

Jim Beavan, on behalf of the applicant, spoke in support of the application.  It was noted that a need for the bus gate had been identified in order to provide convenient links between Bewbush and Kilnwood Vale, and would also be usable for emergency vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.  The Committee heard that the applicant had considered issues of privacy and landscaping at the site, among others.

 

The Committee then considered the application.  Committee members expressed concern over the future of the bus stops on Sullivan Drive and,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Planning Application CR/2019/0696/FUL - Land Parcel At Jersey Farm, County Oak Lane, Langley Green, Crawley pdf icon PDF 373 KB

To consider report PES/328bof the Head of Economy and Planning.

 

RECOMMENDATION to PERMIT

Minutes:

The Committee considered report PES/328b of the Head of Economy and Planning which proposed as follows:

 

Erection of a warehouse building to provide B8 use together with associated car parking and landscaping (amended plans and description).

 

Councillor Jaggard declared they had visited the site.

 

The Principal Planning Officer provided a verbal summation of the application.  The Committee heard that the site had extant planning per­mission from an application originally considered in 2015 (report PES/175).  The current application differed in that permission was being sought for one larger building with a different design and layout for B8 usage rather than a building for B8 and/or B2 usage.  The development of the site for employment use had thus been previously accepted in principle.

 

In providing their update, the Principal Planning Officer advised the Committee that the end of paragraph 5.21 should instead read ‘…this development would have an acceptable impact upon ecology’, and that the monetary amount identified in the bullet point of paragraph 5.27 should be deleted and replaced with “£46,234”.

 

The Committee then considered the application.  A query was raised over the recommendation for an emissions impact assessment by the Council’s Environmental Health team, and the Committee was advised that, as the application was now only for B8 use with a reduction in car parking/movements, the building’s emissions were considered to be no greater than the previously permitted application.

 

RESOLVED

 

Permit subject to the completion of a Section 106 Agreement and the conditions set out in report PES/328b.