STORRINGTON & SULLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL


Minutes of the Meeting of the Planning and Development Committee held in The Skylight Room, The Sullington Parish Hall, Thakeham Road, Storrington, on Thursday, 14th June, 2007, commencing at 7.00 p.m.


Present:     Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese in the Chair, Mr. J. Macey, Mr. A. Mullard, Mr D Roper and Mrs. L. Wheatley.


3.    Apologies for Absence were received from Mr. R. Dawe (prior engagement) and Mr. A. Aldridge (personal).  The reasons for absence were duly ACCEPTED.

4.    Election of Chairman.  Mr. A Mullard proposed Mrs. A. Worthington Leese; seconded Mr. J.  Macey and it was UNANIMOUSLY agreed that:
   
Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese be duly elected. 

5.    Election of Vice-Chairman.  Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese proposed Mr. A Mullard; seconded Mrs. L. Wheatley and it was UNANIMOUSLY agreed that:

        Mr. A. Mullard be duly elected.

6.    Co-option of Committee Members.  Mr A. Aldridge was duly co-opted.

7.    To Receive Declarations of Interest from Members.  Mrs. L. Wheatley declared a personal interest in planning application DC//07/1068.

8.    To Approve and Sign the Minutes of the Last Meetings held on the 12th April 2007 and 4th June 2007.  These minutes were duly AGREED to be correct records of the proceedings thereat and were signed by the Chairman.

    Matters Arising:-

9.    Minute No’s 5, 20, 38, 59, 76, 98 – Storrington Character Assessment.  Mr. Macey reported that Sarah Eastman was the contact at HDC who would be able to assist the Council in the production of Storrington Character Assessment, however she would be leaving at the end of June and there was no-one, as yet, scheduled to take over her role.  Sarah did however confirm that the Historic Character Assessment was written by W.S.C.C. and we would be able to extract as much information from that document as we saw fit.  It was agreed that in the meantime Members plough on as best they can with the Assessment, following W.S.C.C.’s format.  The Clerk suggested approaching Action in Rural Sussex and agreed to follow this up. 

Disk copies of Storrington’s Historic Character Assessment Report were passed to Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese, Mrs L. Wheatley, Messrs. J. Macey and D. Roper.

10.    Minute No’s. 6, 21, 39, 60, 77, 99 – Southern Water.  Mrs. Worthington-Leese read out a letter from Southern Water dated 25th May stating they were in the process of pulling together the information requested and that they would write again shortly. 

There had been no response to date and it was agreed that the Office should write to Southern Water again requesting a reply - forwarding a copy to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

11.    Government Changes to Planning Procedures and Impact on Councils – White Paper.  This document was over 220 pages and considered too lengthy for one member to comment on; hence it was broken down into sections and distributed amongst members.  It was agreed that members should return their relevant sections to the office, along with the answers to the questions within these sections in order that the office could compose a response before the consultation closed on 17th August.

12.    Planning Applications Awaiting Comment – See Appendix I.  These were duly NOTED.

13.    Planning Applications Awaiting Decisions – See Appendix II.  These were duly NOTED.

14.    Planning Applications – Comment Summary – See Appendix III.

DC/07/0341 – Strome, Washington Road.  Amended plans had been received. Previous comments had been addressed with unit 2 being reduced in size and the integral garage now being detached from the property.  A comment of No Objection had been sent to HDC on 13th June.

DC/07/1272 and DC/07/1274 – Hurston Close - 30% crown reduction to Ash and Sycamore Trees.  Both Mr. A. Mullard and Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese had looked at these applications.  It had been noted that the applicants were neighbours and not the owners of these trees and that the owners had not been consulted and would not agree to the work being undertaken.

15.     Appeals.

    (a)    DC/06/2636 – Greenacres Farm, Washington Road.  A letter had been sent
        to the Planning Inspectorate on 18th April 2007, reiterating the PC’s objection
        to this application.

(b)    DC/07/0172 – Old School Building, rear of 29 School Hill.  A letter had been sent to the Planning Inspectorate on 25th May 2007, reiterating the PC’s strong objection to this application.

(c)    EN/18/2006 –Land at Sullington Lane.  It was noted that the applicant had appealed against HDC’s decision and a Public Inquiry was to be held on Wednesday 20th June in Horsham to which Mr J. Macey was proposing to speak on behalf of the Parish Council.

16.    Section 106 Monies.

DC/06/0712 – Sawyards Restaurant, Manleys Hill.  £9,600 Community Facilities Contribution.

17.    Tree Preservation Orders:-

(a)    TPO 1329 – 19, Warren Croft.  1 x Oak Tree (Confirmed).


(b)    TPO 1317 – 17-19, Pulborough Road – Revoked due to one Silver Birch
being found to be structurally deficient.  TPO 1338 - for 3 x Oaks and 1 x Silver Birch issued in replacement.


    Chairman’s Announcements

18.    Adoption of the West Sussex High Quality Waste Facilities Supplementary Planning Document.  Mr. J.  Macey reported that he had read this document and that it had been very well thought through.  In his opinion the plan never goes quite far enough at the outset.  This was all part of the county plan overseen by Mr. Frank Wilkinson.  It was felt that there was a need to find markets for recycled goods.

19.    West Sussex Design & Sustainability Awards 2007.  Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese read out the letter received from W.S.C.C. and asked for any nominations for developments which members felt deserved architectural or characteristic recognition.  No developments came to mind immediately.  Members were asked to inform the Office should they do so, in order that an application form could be completed.

20.    Planning Systems Skills Seminar.  It was noted that Mrs. L. Wheatley had been booked on the Seminar being held on Tuesday 2nd October 2007.  Copies of booking form and agenda for the day were passed to Mrs. L. Wheatley.

21.    Hillcrest, Mill Lane, Storrington.  Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese read out a letter from HDC in response to the Parish Council’s letters regarding cars parking on the dropped curbs and the request for double yellow lines to be installed.  HDC reported that, as a result of the complaints, they had been in contact with W.S.C.C. Highways Department who confirmed that they were now in a position to carry out the work.  They had requested that Charles James Homes contact W.S.C.C. directly in order that the matter could be moved forward and the parking restrictions imposed.

22.    Documents for Councillors to Read:-

    (a)    C.P.R.E. Fieldwork Newsletter.  Mrs. L Wheatley took this Newsletter away
    to read.

    (b)    Local Government Association – May 2007 Issue.


There being no further business, the meeting closed at 7.45pm.