Issue - meetings

Proposal Description: AMENDED PLANS and DOCUMENTS - 09/09/2021) Demolition of detached dwelling, erection of two dwellings..

The application was introduced. Members were referred to the update sheet, which provided additional information regarding several matters, including the following.

1. An Additional Condition (No.16). A Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to the commencement of development. This shall include storage of any equipment/machinery/materials/chemicals, dust suppression, construction vehicle parking, waste/construction material disposal, noise/visual/vibrational impacts and lighting.

Reason: To protect the amenities of the area.

2. In addition, six further letters of objection had been received, and the themes raised in these letters were set out in full on the Update Sheet.

During public participation, Councillor Corcoran, on behalf of Twyford Parish Council, spoke against the application.

Councillor Liam Bailey Morgan spoke as a ward member and expressed several points which could be summarised as follows:

1. He advised that he was also speaking on behalf of Councillor Cook, who sent her apologies, and that she fully supported the position he had taken.
2. He confirmed he had reviewed the application, supporting documents and objections from residents and Twyford Parish Council. He had also visited the site and spoken with concerned neighbours.
3. He noted that the South Downs Local Plan (SD27) and the Twyford Neighbourhood Plan promoted a balanced mix of housing, emphasising two and three-bedroom homes, not large five-bedroom homes as proposed in the application.
4. It was highlighted that the Twyford Neighbourhood Plan policy HN1 limited new four-bedroom homes to 150 square metres, yet the proposed five-bedroom homes were more than double this size.
5. He argued that the proposal for two five-bedroom homes did not serve the identified local need for smaller, affordable, and accessible dwellings (as encouraged by policy HN3.and undermined the social objectives of the development plan.
6. He was concerned about the carbon that would be released by demolishing a home and building two larger ones, which conflicted with the Council's and the National Park's net-zero targets.
7. While acknowledging the officer's justification based on site-specific context, he believed that specific planning policies should take precedence and urged the Committee to refuse the application to uphold both the Twyford Neighbourhood Plan and the South Downs Local Plan.

The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the application.

RESOLVED

1.    The committee voted against the recommendation to grant planning permission and instead voted to refuse permission for the proposal. In reaching this decision, they raised the following material planning matter, which weighed in favour of refusing planning permission:

2.    That the proposed development, because of the scale and size of the two, five-bedroom dwellings, was considered to be contrary to policy HN1 (criterion 1) of the Twyford Neighbourhood Plan and policy SD27 of the South Downs Local Plan, in that it failed to preserve and enhance the purposes of the National Park by providing a mix of housing that meets identified local needs.