Minutes – Planning and Conservation Working Group – 6 January 2022

The minutes of this meeting are presented below.

You can also download a PDF copy of the minutes here: Minutes – Planning and Conservation Working Group – 6 January 2022

NOTES OF THE VIRTUAL MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND CONSERVATION WORKING GROUP HELD ON THURSDAY 6 JANUARY 2022 AT 2.00PM

PRESENT:

• Councillor Plowman (Chairman)
• Councillor Quail (Vice-Chairman)
• Councillor Corfield
• Councillor Gaskin
• Councillor Gershater

EX-OFFICIO:

• Councillor Apel (Chairman of Community Affairs)
• Councillor Scicluna (Chairman of Finance)

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE:

• Councillor Lishman
• Councillor Sharp
• Planning Adviser
• Member Services Support Officer
• Mike Thomas – Area Highway Manager (Western), West Sussex County Council

84. APOLOGIES AND RECORD OF ABSENCE

Apologies were received from the Mayor (Councillor J Hughes).

The Deputy Mayor (Councillor Joy) was absent from the meeting.

85. NOTES OF THE MEETING OF THE WORKING GROUP HELD ON 9 DECEMBER 2021

AGREED that the notes of the Planning and Conservation Working Group meeting held on 9 December 2021, having been previously circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record at a later date.

86. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP IN MATTERS ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING

Councillor Quail declared an interest as Chairman of the Westgate Residents’ Association.

Councillors Apel, Lishman, Plowman and Sharp declared an interest as Members of Chichester District Council.

Councillors Plowman and Scicluna declared an interest as members of the Chichester Conservation Area Advisory Committee.

Councillor Sharp declared an interest as a Member of West Sussex County Council.

At this point the Chairman took agenda item 10.

87. COMMUNITY LEAD HIGHWAY SCHEMES – INCLUDING A PROPOSAL FOR THE OAKLANDS WAY CROSSING

The Chairman introduced Mike Thomas (Area Highway Manager – Western – West Sussex County Council).

Mr Thomas gave Members a presentation outlining the West Sussex County Council Community Highways Scheme (CHS) (copy attached).

Members were advised that the process required proposed schemes to be sponsored by a County Councillor and that proposals were then assessed in detail with those achieving positive assessments proceeding to the later stages.

Members were further advised that the assessments were underpinned using PV2 guidelines for pedestrian crossings and “Inclusive Mobility” guidelines when assessing schemes for the less mobile users of roads and pavements.

Members were informed that the entire process could be quite lengthy due to the nature of the assessment work involved, with successful schemes taking around two years to be completed.

Councillor Gaskin asked what impact the imminent changes to the Highway Code, with their changed emphasis on pedestrian and cyclist road use priorities; would have on the CHS.

Mr Thomas advised Members that he was a firm supporter of walking, cycling and buses as modes of transport and he felt that the current CHS guidelines included sufficiently robust criteria to encompass the new Highway Code rules.

The Chairman thanked Mr Thomas for his informative presentation.

Members asked about the availability of supporting data and documentation for CHS.

After the meeting, the following links were provided:

Accident Data
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/road-safety/road-accidents-and-casualty-data/

Traffic Counts
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/traffic-management/traffic-counts/

CHS Report – Score Sheet in Appendix
http://www2.westsussex.gov.uk/ds/edd/ht/ht02_16-17.pdf

Parking Restrictions Browser
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/traffic-regulation-orders/about-tros/view-tro-restrictions-by-map/traffic-regulation-order-tro-map/

Applying for a Community Highways Scheme
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/leisure-recreation-and-community/supporting-local-communities/apply-for-a-community-highways-scheme/

Community Highways Scheme guidance
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/media/12525/chs_guidance.pdf

West Sussex accident locations map
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/road-safety/accident-locations-map/

Mr Thomas left the meeting which then returned to the agenda order.

88. APPLICATIONS FOR PLANNING PERMISSION

Amended plans

CC/21/00382/FUL – Case Officer: Callum Thomas

Bellway Homes Limited (Wessex) Bartholomews Holdings Bognor Road Chichester West Sussex
Demolition of existing office building and redevelopment for 9 dwellings, including access, parking, landscaping, amenity space and associated infrastructure.

(Minute 124 – 1 April 2021 refers)

The City Council maintains its objection. It is disappointing that the amendments do not address the City Council’s main concerns relating to the loss of the attractive building and the proposed layout which effectively creates an alleyway/twitten with a dwelling at the end.

Week 48 – 1 December 2021

No committee items

Week 49 – 8 December 2021

CC/21/03334/ADV – Case Officer: Rebecca Perris

13 North Street Chichester PO19 1LB
Install external signage (non illuminated) letters onto existing fascia.

Objection as the acrylic lettering would harm the character and appearance of the conservation area and is contrary to the design guidance. No objection should the lettering be hand painted or of a suitable material. It is also requested that the building number be included.

Members further RESOLVED that, in the future, the Planning Adviser should assess and respond to advertisement consent applications on a delegated basis with due regard to the advertisement design guidance.

The Chairman agreed to take concerns regarding the application of the design guidance in Chichester to the Chichester Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group for consideration in their discussions.

89. LOCAL PLAN – UPDATE

The Chairman informed Members that Mr Tony Witty was now heading up the Local Plan review for Chichester District Council.
He advised the Working Group that progress was being made on the Plan update but that the outcomes of traffic studies were being awaited that would help inform decisions about projected housing numbers in the District. Members were further advised that these outcomes were expected within the next month.

The Chairman reported that good progress was being made on the other areas with policies being strengthened in some areas, particularly environmental and waste water issues.

He also reported that the robustness of the final policies was being taken very seriously with a lot of work being undertaken to plug gaps that had become apparent in the previous plan.

90. NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN – UPDATE

The Chairman informed the Working Group that, following the resignation of the previous Chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group; a new Chairman, Ash Pal, had been elected and that he was working on putting together the sub groups that would progress the analysis.

Members were further informed that Alan Bradbury had been elected to the role of Secretary to the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group.

The Chairman advised that he felt that the Steering Group was now in a strong position to progress with the necessary work to move the process forward.

He informed Members that there were still some large areas to be completed for the PLACE studies but that once this was done, the sub groups would be able to commence detailed work on the analysis of these studies and begin putting forward proposals and ideas for the Neighbourhood Plan itself.

The Chairman reported that the planned large public event to publicise the Neighbourhood Plan would likely be delayed to allow for the PLACE studies to be completed and policy ideas formulated.

91. WHITEHOUSE FARM – UPDATE

The Chairman advised Members that he had recently received an update from the developers of Whitehouse Farm (WHF) and that they had informed him that the application for outline planning consent for phase 2 had been delayed due to concerns about the southern access road that would need to be created for the site.

He further informed Members that he felt that West Sussex County Council would not proceed to more concrete plans for the southern access road until the outline phase 2 planning consent had been applied for.

Councillor Apel expressed her ongoing concerns about the issues surrounding school and medical centre provision on the WHF site with Members being advised that space had been reserved for a medical facility.

She also informed the Working Group that she was in the process of trying to organise a public meeting so that the medical facility issue could be discussed but she had not yet found a large enough space for the anticipated number of attendees given the current concerns about social distancing.

Councillor Apel also advised Members that the WHF site had been suffering from flooding issues with particular problems being experienced in the country park green area.

The Chairman expressed the opinion that he felt that, with no medical provision at Graylingwell Park or WHF, the planned facility in the Southern Gateway was in the wrong place as it would be distanced from the need created by the new housing on the other side of the city.

Members discussed the WHF project and agreed that they felt that the community had not been properly consulted on the provision of these facilities and that the aim should be to build homes and communities and not just reach housing targets.

Councillor Lishman expressed disappointment that WHF was not providing what “real humans” want and that the houses being provided were not affordable or accessible by local people.

92. PAVEMENTS IN THE CITY CENTRE – UPDATE

The Chairman advised Members that he felt that a solution was getting closer as the condition of the city centre pavements had now been flagged as a health and safety issue and had been made number one priority with the Economic Growth Panel at Chichester District Council.

He also advised Members that a more pragmatic approach was being adopted with a more realistic and financially viable solution being sought.

Members were informed that, while this might not be a long term solution, it was now considered urgent that something was done in the medium term to resolve the issues being experienced.

In response to a question from Councillor Quail, the Chairman advised Members that the financing of any agreed solution had not been discussed but would probably be shared proportionately between West Sussex County Council, Chichester District Council and Chichester City Council.

Councillor Apel asked how much closer a resolution to the pavement issue was.

The Chairman informed Members that it was hoped that a solution would be devised shortly with work commencing in 2022-23.

Councillor Corfield suggested that, once the works had been completed, a festival be held in the city centre with mobility impaired residents and support groups being invited to celebrate their new freedom within the city centre on much more suitable surfaces.

After a short further discussion it was AGREED that a small sub-committee be set up specifically to maintain pressure as appropriate and try to ensure that the pavement project moved forward.

The Chairman agreed to discuss the Mayor’s involvement with the new sub-committee whose overall membership would be decided at a later date.

93. NOISE ISSUES – UPDATE

Councillor Sharp updated the Working Group about the group that she had recently helped form to tackle traffic noise issues in the area.

She advised the Working Group that the second meeting of the group would be held on 12 January 2022 and that she had previously circulated the meeting invitation and minutes of the first meeting.

Members were further advised that the group membership was intended for Councillors from Chichester and the parishes south of the A27 but the members of the public with specific knowledge and expertise were welcome to attend.

Councillor Sharp informed Members that the group had created an online form to gather reports of noise issues and that they were also collating scientific information and evidence to support their work.

She also informed Members that the group was in the process of creating a name for itself and that they were aiming for a spring launch for their campaign.

The Chairman agreed that noise issues could have a negative impact on peoples’ wellbeing and commended Councillor Sharp on the initiative to bring it to public attention.

94. ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED ON THE NEXT AGENDA

• Strategic direction for planning in Chichester
  • Councillor Dignum to be invited to outline the Chichester District Council strategic vision for Chichester.
  • Gregg Ockwell, West Sussex County Council to be invited to outline the County Council’s strategic vision for Chichester.
• Local Plan – update
• Neighbourhood Plan – update
• Whitehouse Farm – update – subject to further information being available
• Pavements – to form the City Council sub-committee/Working Group
• Noise issues – regular update
• Traffic hotspots – to be linked to potential Community Highway Schemes

DATE OF NEXT ORDINARY MEETING: THURSDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2022

The meeting closed at 3.09pm