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Agenda item
Land to the rear of 419 to 447 Bexhill Road, St. Leonards on Sea
Minutes:
Proposal:
Outline application,(seeking approval of Access), for the reconfiguration of the car park and erection of 16 residential units and means of access.
Application No:
HS/OA/17/01071
Conservation Area:
Listed Building
Public Consultation
No
No
11 letters of objection received and 1 petition
of objection received.
The Principal Planning Officer, Mr Temple introduced this application (seeking approval of access only all other matters reserved) for the reconfiguration of the car park and erection of up to 16 residential units and means of access at land to the rear of 419 to 447 Bexhill Road, St. Leonards on Sea.
Members were informed of several updates to the report:-
• Amended drainage layout received- 0000 Rev.D to be added as drawing as part of decision
• Additional Southern Water comments- no objection
Members were shown plans, photographs and elevations of the application site.
Rebecca Bryan, petitioner, was present, she said the petition had been signed by 100 people against the application. The area, she said, is subject to flooding x 3 times a year, the water floods a large amount of the land and runs into the neighbouring gardens. Three years ago sewage flooded the land which had to be dug up and pumped out. The proposed new houses would be right next to the site and there would be no land left to drain it way. She said she spoke to Southern water who confirmed flooding could happen again at any time. After speaking to Monson who wrote the flood report, she said they had confirmed that they had not visited the site or area and did not know about the flooding issues and had said when flooding happens in the future it is likely to go across the railway and onto the beach. She said they had worked off an aerial view map and did not know about the height of the ground. She said it is the sloping ground that allows the water to flow away from houses to protect them. If the ground is not raised the houses will be at risk and if the ground is raised the new houses will be at risk. There is no evidence to show the soakaway will work. She said there are already many problems in area, the drains are constantly blocked; power cuts are becoming more frequent and the houses are liable to subsidence. The development will create additional traffic and noise and will take away a much needed car parking near the area. It is a wildlife site, with many trees and species. She said the proposed development will put the area at a higher risk of flooding.
The applicant had been invited to attend, but was not present.
The Principal Planning Officer, Mr Temple, said drainage will be improved in terms of the foul water on site and the surface water will be pumped away. With a site that has flooding problems, he said they would be looking to improve the flooding problems for the benefit of the wider area as well as the current site. The petitioner may have spoken to Southern Water, but they have not raised an objection. He said he would be very surprised if Munson had not carried out a site visit and confirmed he had not received any objection from the Environment Agency on flooding grounds, or ESCC on surface water drainage and sustainable drainage. Southern Water had suggested conditions which deal with ground contamination and potential flooding which will be dealt with under reserved matters, should this application be approved. He said the site is not allocated for development, although the Council is under pressure to supply more homes, this is a windfall site and brownfield site and has been previously used. Highways, he said, had not objected and neither had the Ecologist. The Ecologist had recommended conditions for wildlife protection. He said this application will not be out of character with the existing residential area.
The Planning Services Manager referred to Condition 11(i) of the officer’s report, she said if the application is approved and details submitted, they will consult with the various bodies to find out what their views are and if they find issue then the development will not go ahead.
Councillors discussed the application in detail.
Councillor Beaver proposed a motion against the officer’s recommendation to refuse the application. This was seconded by Councillor Edwards.
RESOLVED – by (5 votes for, 3 against and 1 abstention) that Planning Permission be refused for the following reason:
The proposed development would exacerbate drainage and flooding issues both on and adjacent to the site and therefore the development is contrary to Policy SC7 of the Hastings Planning Strategy Local Plan (2014) and paragraphs 155, 158 and 160 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Supporting documents:
- MAP_Land to the rear of 419-447 Bexhill Road - HS-OA-17-01071, item 75c PDF 370 KB
- Land to the Rear of 419 to 447 Bexhill Road - HS-OA-17-01071, item 75c PDF 204 KB
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