Agenda item - BH2023/03130 - Portslade Village Centre, 3 Courthope Close, Portslade - Full Planning

1.    The Planning Manager introduced the application to the committee.

Answers to committee Member Questions

2.    Councillor Galvin was informed that the existing community centre will be demolished, and the new centre will form part of the new buildings and will be smaller. It is considered that the centre will be better quality than the existing.

3.    Councillor Theobald was informed that the users of the existing centre have been consulted and the new site will be more accessible, and the internal spaces can be arranged into different sizes. It was noted that other council owned buildings will be available for use of current hirers. The parking spaces to the north and west are for the centre users, with a total of 10.

4.    Councillor Shanks was informed that the housing would be 100% affordable but that only a policy-compliant 40% can be secured through legal agreement. The opening times were suggested by the applicant, and these were covered by condition. The Estate Regeneration Project Manager noted that Nautical Training use the site currently and no end user had been identified. The centre will be let by the council to a management company and hirers will pay the management company.

5.    Councillor Galvin was informed that the closing time of 10pm can be changed by the end user if they apply for a variation of the condition relating to opening times. The Planning Manager noted the quiet times were 11pm to 7am.

6.    Councillor Loughran was informed that overlooking and loss of privacy had been considered by officers in assessing the application.

7.    Councillor Winder was informed that each unit had outside space of either a balcony or patio, and there were also communal spaces.

Debate

8.    Councillor Theobald considered the affordable housing to be good, as was the design. It was disappointing to reduce the size of the centre, however, they supported the application.

9.    Councillor Allen considered the 100% affordable housing refreshing to see and considered the development sat well within the area. They considered Nautical Training to be a good group.

10. Councillor Shanks considered the location for housing to be good, however, it was a shame the centre was to be smaller.

11. Councillor Earthey considered it to be good that the development would be owned by the council and not privatised.

12. Councillor Loughran proposed a change to condition 4 regarding opening times to allow later opening if wanted.

13. Vote

14. A vote was taken on condition 4, and the committee agreed unanimously to update C4 to add ‘Unless otherwise agreed in advance and in writing by the Local Planning Authority’.

15. A vote was taken on the application, and the committee agreed unanimously to grant planning permission.

16. RESOLVED: That the Committee has taken into consideration and agrees with the reasons for the recommendation set out in the report and resolves to be MINDED TO GRANT planning permission subject to a s106 agreement and the Conditions and Informatives, SAVE THAT should the s106 Planning Obligation not be completed on or before the 5th September 2024 the Head of Planning is hereby authorised to refuse planning permission for the reasons set out in the final section of the report.