Issue - items at meetings - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

(a)          Petitions: to receive any petitions presented by members of the public to full Council or at the meeting itself.

(i)        St Aubyns Playing Field, Rottingdean. 

(b)       Written Questions: to receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 10 September 2015;

(c)       Deputations: to receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 10 September 2015.

(i)        The Cycle Track Refurbishment Project – Friends of Preston Park

            St. Aubyn’s Playing Field Rottingdean

18.1    The Chair noted the petition had been referred from Council on 19 March 2015; there was also an Officer amendment to the resolution from Council that had been laid round at the meeting for the Committee to formally vote on.

18.2    Before the Committee discussed the petition or the proposed amendment the Chair read the following response:

            “This petition has been referred from Council on 19 March with an amended recommendation which has been laid round for the Committee at the meeting. In planning terms a Local Green Space is a designation that could only be made through a development plan. There are two options for bringing such a designation forward in relation to the Playing Fields at St Aubyns:

•        Rottingdean Neighbourhood Plan; or

•           Part 2 of the City Plan.

It is likely the Neighbourhood Plan will come forward earlier and therefore this is likely to be the preferred option. We are aware the Local Green space at St Aubyns is identified as a priority in the Neighbourhood Plan Vision document. In terms of designation – the land would be required to meet the criteria for Local Green Space set out in Paragraphs 76 and 77 of the National Planning Policy Framework.  The proposed designation will be assessed at examination stage of the Neighbourhood Plan by an independent assessor.

In view of the number of heritage assets on the site the Planning Brief allows for a developer to put forward clear and compelling justification for some harm to some assets in order to put forward a viable scheme. The Council, as local planning authority would need to assess if the overall benefits of the scheme would outweigh this harm. This could involve some development on part of the playing fields if the overall scheme was assessed as being beneficial.

A planning application and two listed building applications have been submitted for the site. The planning application requires additional information before being validated but should be on the council’s planning register later this month.”

18.3    Councillor Peltzer Dunn noted that the proposed Officer amendment was a sensible way forward; however, he recognised the concerns of residents and suggested that the word ‘substantial’ be added before the word ‘part’ on the second and sixth line of the amendment. The Committee agreed to this wording.

18.4    In response to Councillor Druitt it was clarification that designation of local green space would give the land protection equivalent to that of ‘green belt’. It was also updated that the planning application for the site had been validated by the Development Control section that day.

18.5    The Chair then put the proposed amendment to the vote. This was carried.

18.6    The Chair then put the amended recommendation to vote. This was carried.

18.7    RESOLVED: That the Committee recommend that Rottingdean Parish Council consider the designation of all, or a substantial part, of the playing field at St Aubyns in the emerging neighbourhood plan as a local green space.

OR, in the absence of such a plan coming forward that during the preparation of Part 2 of the City Plan consideration be given to formally designating all, or a substantial part, of the playing field as local green space.

            Preston Park Cycle Track

18.8    The two deputations in relation to this item were considered together with the report at Item 20 on the agenda.