Agenda item

To consider report PES/329dof the Head of Economy and Planning.

RECOMMENDATION to PERMIT

The Committee considered report PES/329d of the Head of Economy and Planning which proposed as follows:

Adventure golf facility and associated works & reconfiguration of overflow car park for additional parking provision.

Councillors A Belben, Jaggard, Jhans, Mwagale, and P C Smith declared they had visited the site.

The Principal Planning Officer provided a verbal summation of the application and provided the Committee with an update to the application including one amended condition and one new informative, as follows:

Amended condition:-

5.         The development hereby approved shall only take place in strict accordance with the submitted Construction Management Plan provided by Greenspan Project Limited, dated 27 January 2020 and received on 7 February 2020.

REASON:  In the interests of highway safety and the amenities of the area in accordance with Policy CH3 of the Crawley Borough Council Local Plan 2015-2030.

New informative:-

2.         The applicant is advised to contact the local Highways Officer before work begins to inform them of what is proposed.  This can be done via the following web link, mentioning “Titmus Drive” on the web form:  https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/make-an-enquiry-about-a-road-or-pavement/

Jacky Bradley, on behalf of a group of Tilgate residents, spoke in objection to the application.  It was heard that during previous public meetings, residents had been assured that the car park would remain free and not be converted to the pay and display system that was now rumoured.  The planting of three trees to mitigate the loss of one was not deemed sufficient considering the space available and the need to offset carbon emissions.  It was also suggested that the current refuse disposal arrangements at the site were unsuitable.

Tom Brooke, as the applicant, spoke in support of the application.  It was heard that the applicant had made changes to the application following discussion with the Council and local residents which were compliant with planning policy.  The site had been leased to Glendale Golf by the Council in 2004 and this was considered a reuse of the land, upon which no footpaths were to be removed and one tree was to be felled.  The applicant currently had no intention of charging for car parking.

The Committee then considered the application.  Committee members welcomed the addition of a family attraction in Crawley, and raised various queries which were addressed by Planning Officers:

·         The materials to be used on the adventure golf course would be subject to condition 3, which required that samples be submitted for approval prior to installation.

·         The opening times of the proposed facility would be 9am-9pm, to which the Council’s Environmental Health department had not objected.

·         Access to the car park would be via the narrow access road, to which West Sussex County Council’s Highways department had not raised an objection. It was explained that the access road had sufficient forward visibility.

·         Issues with refuse disposal were a matter for the land owner and operator and it was to be noted in the minutes that the relevant department of the Council (as the landowner) would investigate and ensure that Glendale Golf undertakes the storage of rubbish around the site in a satisfactory manner.

·         That the proposed number of trees to be planted was compliant with planning policy.  The Committee expressed a wish for more trees to be planted in the area – this would be considered as part of the landscaping scheme proposals required under condition 11 for the application site, and an informative would be added to encourage this elsewhere on the Glendale Golf site.

·         The likelihood of the car park becoming pay and display, which was not itself a planning consideration, but the importance of sufficient car parking space on suitable terrain was noted.  The additional car parking spaces in the overflow car park and the re-provision of disabled spaces in the main car park would be secured via an additional condition.

RESOLVED

Permit, subject to:

(i)            the conditions set out in report PES/329d;

(ii)           the amended condition and new informative as set out above;

(iii)          the following additional condition and additional informative:

Additional condition:-

13.       The adventure golf facility hereby permitted shall not be brought into use until the additional parking spaces in the overflow car park shown on approved drawing number EAD-075-03 rev S1, together with details of the re-provision of the disabled spaces in the main car park, have been provided and constructed. The spaces so provided shall thereafter be retained in accordance with the approved details.

REASON: To ensure that adequate and satisfactory provision is made for the parking of vehicles associated with the golf course in accordance with policy CH3 of the Crawley Borough Local Plan 2015 - 2030.

Additional informative:-

3.         The applicant is advised that the landscaping scheme (condition 11) should include the planting of further trees on the application site, in addition to the three replacement trees that are required within the car park area.  The applicant is also strongly encouraged to give consideration to the planting of additional trees elsewhere on the golf course site as a whole.