At a meeting of the Crawley Borough Council Planning Committee, councillors approved plans for a hostel and a school extension, and confirmed a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). The committee approved the change of use of 6-9 Ifield Road from a house in multiple occupation to a hostel, with an increase in maximum occupancy, after amending a condition to include external amenity space for residents. Councillors also approved the construction of a two-storey teaching extension at St Wilfrid's Catholic School, and confirmed the Tree Preservation Order - Trees at Lidl, Haslett Avenue East - 03/2025.

Planning Application CR/2022/0447/FUL - 6-9 Ifield Road, West Green, Crawley

Councillors voted to permit the proposed change of use from a 27-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) to a hostel, with the maximum number of occupants rising from 36 to 68. The committee amended condition 5 to include external amenity space for residents.

The application was for a change of use at 6-9 Ifield Road, West Green, from a house in multiple occupation to a hostel, with an increase in the maximum occupancy. The hostel is owned by Crawley Borough Council and is to be used as temporary accommodation for people in need of emergency housing.

David Taylor, an owner of a business neighbouring the site, objected to the application, citing:

• Negative impacts of the hostel on the High Street area due to anti-social behaviour.
• Breaches of Local Plan policies CL1¹ and DD1², and HA1³.
• The High Court ruling in the Epping asylum hotel case, which stated that strict enforcement of planning controls was of particular importance when inappropriate accommodation use threatened the local community.

Russell Allison, speaking on behalf of Crawley Borough Council, in support of the application, said that the council was a reliable landlord and able to appropriately manage its properties. He added that the proposed accommodation was preferable to alternatives such as bed and breakfast rooms, and provided an important pathway for homeless people to access more secure permanent accommodation.

Councillor Ian Irvine, Crawley Borough Council Cabinet Member for Housing, also spoke in support, stating that the council had recently declared a housing emergency and that the development would save the council approximately £830,000 per year.

Councillor Michael Jones, Leader of Crawley Borough Council, said that more temporary accommodation was required to meet the demand to house local people who had found themselves homeless.

During the debate, councillors agreed there was a significant need for more temporary accommodation in the borough. Concerns were raised regarding a lack of internal communal space for residents. Councillor Kim Jaggard proposed an amendment to condition 5, seconded by Councillor Maureen Mwagale:

The hostel shall not be occupied by more than 36 persons until details have been provided on a plan showing space within the rear external area for the provision of refuse storage for general waste and recycling, and provision laid out as external amenity space for residents in accordance with the required standards, such details shall be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved details shall thereafter be retained for the lifetime of the development.

The committee voted to permit the application subject to the conditions set out in report PES/494a, including amended condition 5.

Planning Application CR/2022/0448/FUL - St Wilfrid's Catholic School, St Wilfrid's Way, Southgate, Crawley

The committee voted to permit the construction of a new, two-storey teaching extension to St Wilfrid's Catholic School, St Wilfrid's Way, Southgate.

The application sought permission for the construction of a two-storey building at the north of the existing school site in order to provide fourteen new classrooms.

A committee member noted that condition 5 required a Dust Management Plan be submitted and sought detail of the content of this as it was deemed essential to protect the students' health during construction. The Acting Principal Planning Officer, Alex Sanders, confirmed that the plan would be required to be approved by the local planning authority before works began.

The committee voted to permit the application subject to the conditions set out in report PES/494b.

Crawley Borough Council Tree Preservation Order - Trees at Lidl, Haslett Avenue East - 03/2025

The committee voted to confirm the Tree Preservation Order - Trees at Lidl, Haslett Avenue East - 03/2025 without modification.

The application related to three groups of trees around the Lidl supermarket building on Haslett Avenue East. The tree groups were visually prominent from the public highway and were considered to have significant amenity value. In April 2025 the trees were protected under a six-month provisional TPO.

The committee considered report PES/495 of the Head of Economy and Planning, which sought to determine whether to confirm the TPO with or without modification for continued protection, or not to confirm the TPO.

A query was raised regarding the ownership of the land on which tree group G1 was situated. Officers confirmed that, according to the Land Registry, G1 ran along either side of the boundary of land owned by Lidl and by West Sussex County Council.

The committee voted to confirm the TPO without modification.

Other Matters

• Councillors approved the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 7 July 2025.
• Councillors Duncan Crow, Jilly Hart, and Beni Yianni declared personal interests in planning applications CR/2022/0447/FUL and CR/2022/0448/FUL.
• Councillors Ashraf, Bidwell, Crow, Hart, Hilton, Jaggard, Khan, Mwagale, and Rana declared they had been lobbied but had expressed no view on application CR/2022/0447/FUL. Councillor Hart had been lobbied but had expressed no view on application CR/2022/0448/FUL.