The Planning Committee (South) will consider reports by the Head of Development & Building Control and may take action on them. They will also be provided with a list of planning appeals lodged, in progress and decided.

DC/24/0749 Hilland House, New Road, Billingshurst

The committee will consider an outline planning application to build up to 125 homes on land to the north of Billingshurst.

The application, submitted by Northgate Properties Ltd G Beck, proposes to build the homes in 4 parcels on the 10.41-hectare site. They will be accessed from New Road via a new bell-mouth junction. The application also proposes to retain the existing dwelling, Hilland House, with a smaller curtilage.

The proposed development would provide 43% affordable housing, split between:

• Open Market (71 units)
  • 4 x 1 bed
  • 21 x 2 bed
  • 28 x 3 bed
  • 18 x 4 bed
• Affordable housing (54 units)
  • 13 x 1 bed
  • 21 x 2 bed
  • 14 x 3 bed
  • 6 x 4 bed

The application says the homes will be supplied with water from on-site boreholes, and a Water Neutrality Statement¹ has been prepared for consideration.

Because the proposed development is located outside of the built-up area boundary, and does not form part of the Horsham District Planning Framework 2015 or the Billingshurst Neighbourhood Plan, the application is classed as a departure from the development plan. It is noted that the council is currently unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites.

The report to the committee also notes that the application site is not included in the Horsham District Local Plan (2023-40) as a site allocation, even though it was actively promoted during the plan preparation period on behalf of the landowners. This is because of concerns over:

• The effect on the landscape
• Education provision
• Leisure/recreation/community facilities
• Transport

DC/24/0887 Hilland House, New Road, Billingshurst

The committee will also consider a second, largely identical, outline application for the same site. This application proposes to build 117 homes.

This second application differs from the first because it includes a 35-metre deep landscape buffer on the southern boundary. The buffer would result in the loss of 8 homes, compared to the first application. The application says that this will reduce the impact of the development on the surrounding landscape. The indicative layout for this application has also been adjusted to account for the buffer.

DC/24/1619 Land to the West of Smock Alley, South of Little Haglands, West Chiltington

The committee will consider an application to build 14 homes on land to the north east of West Chiltington Common, West Chiltington.

The application, submitted by Michael Stephens, seeks full planning permission to build the homes on 1.3 hectares of land. The development would be accessed from Smock Alley.

The application says the homes will be supplied with water from an on-site borehole, and a Water Neutrality Statement has been prepared for consideration.

5 of the homes would be affordable (35%). The affordable housing split has not yet been decided.

Because the proposed development is located outside of the built-up area boundary, the application is classed as a departure from the development plan. It is noted that the council is currently unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites. It is also noted that the site has been selected for housing allocation in both the emerging Horsham District Local Plan (HDLP) and the draft West Chiltington Neighbourhood Plan.

The report to the committee observes that:

The progression of the West Chiltington Neighbourhood Plan to Regulation 16 pre-submission consultation stage means that greater weight is to be given to the allocation of this site within Policy H2b. Whilst full weight cannot be given to the Plan, Officers advise that the weight to be applied to the allocation of this site within the Plan should now be raised to ‘limited’.

The report also says:

The progression of the HDLP to formal examination means that greater weight is to be given to the allocation of this site within Policy HA21. Whilst full weight cannot yet be given to the HDLP, Officers advise that the weight to be applied to the allocation of this site within the HDLP should now be raised to ‘moderate’.

This is the fourth application by the same developer to build homes on this site. The three previous applications were refused. The first two applications were for outline planning permission to build 19 homes (DC/15/1389), and 21 homes (DC/14/2248). These were both dismissed on appeal. The third application was for full planning permission to build 14 homes (DC/21/2007) and was also dismissed on appeal.

The report says:

The decision to not defend the above reason for refusal at appeal is a new material consideration for the determination of this current application.

The report also notes the introduction of new legislation:

Third, the new statutory requirement within the Environment Act for new development to achieve a minimum 10% Biodiversity Net Gain now applies. Whilst the proposed net gain remains as previous, the fact that this gain must now be secured by legal agreement to be managed, maintained and monitored for 30 years increases the weight to be applied to this benefit of the development.

DC/24/0031 Four Seasons Fuel, Coneyhurst Road, Coneyhurst, Billingshurst

The committee will consider an application to store up to 49 tonnes of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) at the Four Seasons Fuel site on Coneyhurst Road, Coneyhurst.

The application, submitted by Scott Harris, seeks Hazardous Substances Consent for the storage, which will be in two 14-tonne cylinders. It also seeks permission to continue to store other substances already on site, such as oxygen and petroleum.

This application is being considered because the quantity of LPG to be stored exceeds the legal threshold for Hazardous Substances Consent.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has assessed the risks associated with the storage. They say the risks to the surrounding population are so small that they do not object to the application.

The HSE has recommended that a condition be attached to the consent stipulating the area where the hazardous substances can be stored. The HSE has also provided a map of the surrounding area identifying a consultation zone, and advised that they must be consulted on any relevant future development in that zone.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue service are content with the fire safety arrangements at the site.

DC/24/0862 South House Farm, Marringdean Road, Billingshurst

The committee will consider an application to build a new home on land to the north-west of South House Farm in Billingshurst.

The application, submitted by Robert Van Den Burgh, seeks full planning permission to build the home.

The proposed new home would replace an existing agricultural building on the site, which is currently used as a plant and machinery store. The application says that this is an alternative to an existing planning application, which was approved under permitted development rights, for the change of use of that building to a home.

Because the application site is located outside of the built-up area boundary, the application is classed as a departure from the development plan. It is noted that the council is currently unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites.

The application says that the new home will be supplied with water by a rainwater harvesting system, and a Water Neutrality Statement has been prepared for consideration. It also says that new landscaping will be planted across the site, and that this represents an improvement compared to the existing application. A number of conditions are recommended in the report to the committee.

The report also notes that because an application to convert the existing barn to a home has already been approved, refusal of this application would not prevent a residential development from being built on the site. The report says:

The presence of a viable fallback permission for the conversion of the barn to one dwelling is a significant material consideration, and in effect establishes the principle of housing on this site.