ARLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

A QUALITY COUNCIL

(QC-12-06-00359)

Tel: 01323 811870

www.arlington-parish-council.org.uk

 

Minutes of a Planning and Co-option Meeting of Arlington Parish Council held in Arlington Village Hall at 7.00 pm on Wednesday 29th July 2009. (Paragraphs 09.83 – 09.89)

 

PRESENT: Councillors Mike Garner (Chairman), Paula Ertl, Doreen Goodchild, Carolyn McCutchan, Helen Proctor and Mark Yeoman.

 

In attendance: Katrina Larkin (Clerk); District Cllr David White; and four members of the public.

 

09.83 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. None.

 

09.84 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST. Cllr Proctor declared a personal interest in Item 09.86, regarding planning application WD/2009/1470/F affecting a property adjoining her own.

 

09.85 PUBLIC ADJOURNMENT.

Mr Parsons confirmed that the DRA would have no objection to the proposed temporary planning permission being sought by St Bede’s School under S.106 in Item 09.86 of the agenda.

 

09.86 PLANNING

WD/2009/1470/F: 1 Elm Cottages, Upper Dicker, Hailsham, BN27 3QD. Single storey extension to SW elevation. It was agreed, with one abstention, that this planning application should be recommended for APPROVAL.

WD/2009/1497/F. Hedley House, High Barn Road, Upper Dicker, BN27 3QJ. Proposed two bay garage/cart lodge and secure garden tool store. It was agreed that this application be recommended for APPROVAL.

Consultation under s.106 Agreement.  Proposals for renewal of temporary planning permission and change of use for two timber buildings at St. Bede’s School. It was agreed that these proposals could be supported by APC.

 

09.87 LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK – CORE STRATEGY.

At the invitation of the Chairman, District Cllr White set the context for the current consultation on the LDF Core Strategy, and outlined the main characteristics and merits of each of the six options for Spatial Development set out by the Wealden District Council. These options showed different ways of locating future housing and employment growth in Wealden over the next twenty years. They showed strategic development choices, not the detail of individual sites or locations. The purpose of WDC’s consultation with parishes was to decide the best spatial development option, which would provide the foundation for the more detailed plans that would follow. The District Council’s chosen strategy would be judged by central government on its ‘soundness’ i.e. its evidence base, its deliverability, its conformity with government legislation (the SE Plan), and on the quality of its underlying consultation process. Although parishes might regard the government’s housing targets for the South East as excessive, they would be well advised to deal with them as present realities, rather than hope for hypothetical changes that might never happen.

 

Cllr White advised that two of the options being canvassed by WDC might be faulted by central government. Option 6, focussing growth in the Lewes/Uckfield railway line catchment area, had considerable support, but allocated fewer houses to the southern part of the District than the SE Plan envisaged, and might constrain growth elsewhere in Wealden too much. It might therefore be judged not sustainable. Moreover, the re-opening of the railway line might arguably not be deliverable. Option 1: proportionate growth in the existing settlement hierarchy, might also be judged incompatible with the SE Plan, which wanted more growth in the south of the District. It might also not be sustainable for service provision (some service providers like Primary Care Trusts prefer a smaller number of larger centres for delivering infrastructure). Option 1 might also be unacceptable to Arlington because it called for an additional 26-50 dwellings in the parish by 2026, which was the largest number of any of the options.  Options 2, 3, 4, and 5, all of which projected a requirement of an 10 additional dwellings in Arlington by 2026, would make little difference to this parish, which had already identified a need for eight affordable homes anyway. It would therefore be all the more important to consider the needs of the wider area in choosing between these Options, perhaps with suggested modifications.

 

Arlington Parish Council agreed the following:

 

The most appropriate housing option for Wealden would be Option 3 - growth focussed at Uckfield and Polegate. It would meet the housing requirements of the SE Plan, but would distribute the extra dwellings required by the government over Wealden as a whole, while permitting some urban extensions in south Wealden, reflecting infrastructure delivery issues. However, APC would hope that this Option could have some flexibility built into it, so that parishes need not be limited to 10 extra dwellings (or a rigid 10% extra), if they needed more or less. APC also had reservations about the state of public transport between Eastbourne and Hailsham, which was inadequate already, and would require substantial improvement to make this Option work. At the very least, extra public transport would be needed from Hailsham to Polegate, and thence onto the existing main system.

 

The least appropriate housing option for Wealden would be Option 6 – growth in the Lewes/Uckfield railway line catchment. This Option might conflict with the SE Plan. It would draw growth away from some areas that needed it, and the reinstatement of the railway line might not be practical.

 

The most appropriate employment option for Wealden would be Option 8 – town and service centre employment focus. This option would follow the spread of new housing. Again, sustainable transport would be an issue.

 

Strategic aims: APC would wish the rural character of the area to be protected, whilst supporting such strategic aims as correcting imbalances by tackling areas of deprivation; increasing the economic momentum of the District; fostering a pattern of towns and villages working together; improving accessibility for all; and recognising the scale and impact of climate change.

 

WDC should also be requested to address the following issues as part of the Core Strategy:

 

-          the landscape and character of the Low Weald and the Cuckmere Valley in particular should be protected. Some parishes would now be protected by their National Park status, but the landscape of the Low Weald was just as important as other designations which received more attention, and was fully deserving of its own protection, especially in the Cuckmere Valley, which had hitherto remained unspoilt. This was a historic landscape, and should be appreciated as such. Arlington Parish Council would wish to support the petition being drawn up in Berwick for the protection of the Downland approaches.

 

-          Flexibility should be built into the chosen spatial development option, so that parishes could keep housing developments proportionate to proven local housing needs.

 

-      The Eastbourne – Hailsham Triangle seemed to have been superceded by the present list

        of spatial development options.  However, the criticisms made of it still applied.  The low

        skill, low wage economy which characterised the District would only attract new business     

        when conditions were right, which currently they were not.  Public investment, particularly     

        in transport , must come first, as everything depended on the accessibility of the region as    

        a whole. The A27 should be a dual carriageway. Transport links between Hailsham and

        Polegate should be upgraded, but there should be no ‘ribbon development’  along the

        A22.  Proportionate growth in existing settlements would be preferable, if handled flexibly.

The Clerk should convey these responses to the Wealden District Council.

 

09.88 CO-OPTION OF COUNCILLOR

Three possible candidates addressed the Council. Mr John Parsons, Mr Edward Dickie and Mr Derek Connolly all spoke on their background and experience and outlined what they would hope to bring to the council if appointed. It was clear that all three were very strong candidates.  A vote was taken and Mr Dickie was declared appointed by a clear majority.

 

The Chairman thanked all the candidates and congratulated Mr Dickie on his appointment.

 

09.89 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

A planning meeting would be held on Thursday 20th August 2009 at 7.00pm at a venue to be announced.

 

The meeting closed at 8.45 pm.

 

Katrina Larkin, Parish Clerk, 4th August 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Signed…………………………………………………………….Chairman

 

 

 

                                   NOTE TO WEBSITE READERS: THE NEXT APC MEETING WILL BE HELD ON 20TH AUGUST AT 7.00PM IN UPPER DICKER VILLAGE HALL.

                                                                                                 IT WILL CONSIDER PLANNING APPLICATIONS

 

                                 THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER AT 7.30 PM IN ARLINGTON VILLAGE HALL