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Minutes – Planning and Conservation Committee (Special meeting) – 28 July 2022

The agenda and papers for this meeting are available here: Planning and Conservation Committee – 21 July 2022 – agenda and papers (Special Meeting)

The minutes of this meeting are presented below.

You can also download a PDF copy of the minutes here: Minutes – Planning and Conservation Committee (Special meeting) – 28 July 2022

MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL PLANNING AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER AT 2.00PM ON THURSDAY 28 JULY 2022

PRESENT:

  • Councillors Quail (Chairman), Gaskin, Gershater

EX-OFFICIO:

  • The Mayor (Councillor Joy), Councillor Apel (Chairman of Community Affairs), Councillor Scicluna (Chairman of Finance)

ALSO PRESENT:

  • Councillor Sharp

IN ATTENDANCE:

  • Town Clerk, Member Services Support Officer, Planning Adviser, Committee and Communities Officer, Ash Pal (Parkland Residents’ Association), Chris Lindsay (East Broyle Residents’ Association), Dr Ian Swann (Chichester and District Cycle Forum, Friends of Centurion Way, ChiCycle), Gabrielle Abbott (Westgate resident), West Sussex County Councillor Simon Oakley, a member of the press, four members of the public

48. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

No apologies were received from Members of the Committee.

Apologies with a reason were received from Councillor Carter.

Councillor Corfield was absent from the meeting.

49. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

Councillor Plowman declared an interest as a Member of Chichester District Council and as a Member of the Chichester Conservation Area Advisory Committee.

Councillor Apel declared an interest as a Member of Chichester District Council.

The Mayor declared an interest as a Member of West Sussex County Council for Chichester West, ChiCycle Group and ChEm Route.

Councillor Quail declared an interest as Chair of Westgate Residents Association.

At this point Councillor Quail stood down as Chairman for this meeting due to the conflict of interest as Chair of Westgare Residents Association and welcomed The Deputy Chairman Councillor Gershater to Chair the meeting in her place.

50. PLANNING APPLICATION (REF. CC/22/01485/OUTEIA)

CC/22/01485/OUTEIA – Case Officer: Steve Harris
Vistry Group and Miller Homes
Land To The West Of Centurion Way; Land At Bishop Luffa School; Land At And Adjoining Westgate And; Land To The North-east Of Old Broyle Road And St Pauls Road.
Outline planning application with all matters except Access reserved for the second phase of development of the West of Chichester Strategic Development Location (SDL) for 850 homes and employment land
The Planning Advisor introduced the agenda item and spoke of the issues associated with the application with the help of maps and available details.

Nick Billington from Miller Homes gave a brief presentation and outlined the phases of the development and the proposed further works.

Members of the Committee had a brief discussion and asked Mr Billington questions with regards to the application.
Members of the public were given the chance to speak and share their views on the proposed application.

After a further debate, it was agreed to object to the application.

Objection. Whilst it is recognised that the development is supported by the relevant land use allocation within the adopted Local Plan and largely accords with the previous overall West of Chichester Masterplan, objection is raised on a number of points of concern which should addressed fully prior to any grant of permission:

  • The siting of the Bishop Luffa access roundabout at the point of exit from the foot/cycle bridge over the railway will encourage dangerous crossing of the SAR by students, as the crossings are some distance in the opposite direction to the school access. Consideration should be given to moving the roundabout and putting in a crossing at the foot of the bridge to maximise safety for students. Alternatively, negotiation could be undertaken between Network Rail, WSCC and CDC to reconfigure the northern side of the bridge. The existing bridge directs users back on themselves to bring them out at its current exit point. A reconfiguration of the bridge could provide two continuous slopes, for those travelling both west and east, which would bring its western exit (or access) point close to the Centurion Way crossing, although this would result in the loss of a group of trees. The eastern exit would also be a safer distance from the roundabout.
  • The siting and extent of the industrial areas into the land around the ancient woodland is of concern; it creates a linear area of landscape and ecology sandwiched between industrial units, rather than as was originally envisaged, a larger area directly connecting, for wildlife, to the phase 1 country park. The development to the north of this countryside was originally envisaged to be residential, industrial use reduces accessibility and desirability of recreational use of the surrounding area. It being significantly less visible and less well used for leisure purposes by adjacent residents increases the risk of anti-social behaviour and consequent development pressure to infill. The vehicular access through residential areas is undesirable. Reduced industrial provision should be considered, particularly in light of the 2022 HEDNA concluding reduced need for new employment land, and use should be made of the land around the pumping station; this should remove the need for the new, eastern industrial plot.
  • Traffic flow along the A27 at peak times is already slow, as is traffic flow within the city centre at times. Although the Transport Assessment concludes that impacts are acceptable, the predicted 4.1% (no parameters for the estimation provided) increase in evening peak flow traffic every day at the Fishbourne roundabout and a 5.5% increase at Northgate gyratory would meaningfully contribute to traffic delays which residents already find unacceptable. National Highways have now said they are unsatisfied with the TA and requested further work.
  • The following should be considered: Connection of the SAR directly to the college roundabout, no left turn onto Sherbourne Road, vehicular connection to Clay Lane and from Clay Lane to the A27 at the existing underpass, a roundabout to Norwich Road – Sherbourne Road junction, a Dutch style roundabout at SAR – Westgate – Sherbourne Road junction (separate to or incorporating the college roundabout), implementing junction “option 2” which is a direct link onto the A259 college roundabout (the Paul Wreyford design).
  • The safety audit identifies that the new SAR junction’s stagger distance does not meet safety requirements and is therefore unacceptable as proposed.
  • The creation of the Northern Country Park should employ a “light touch”, prioritising biodiversity and existing local ecology in the balance with leisure use.
  • The SAR should be provided well before the 900th (of 1600) dwelling to allow it to be used by construction traffic.
  • Air pollution which would exceed maximum limits and would unacceptably impact local residents, cyclists and pedestrians, particularly of increased traffic queueing.

It was RESOLVED that an objection be made to this application. However, Members noted that, in principle, the development was supported as per the Planning Advisor’s comments.

It was also RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND to the Finance Committee on 13 September 2022 that an independent traffic and transport consultant be commissioned to advise the City Council on the proposed design for the Southern Access Route.

DATE OF NEXT ORDINARY MEETING: THURSDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2022

The meeting closed at 3.30pm.

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