PC response to revised plans for DC/25/2006 (land east of Hayes Lane)

Dear Sam

On the 9th of July we had another discussion with the developer for East of Hayes Lane and raised the following points which set out our position.  We proposed that if we can reach agreement on all of these points then Parish Council is minded to change its position of Objection to Support for the outline application. We were awaiting a response from the developer. We note a bundle of revised information has been submitted by the developer on the 22nd of July.  We were not made aware of this or its contents and unfortunately on examination they do not address our concerns and therefore remain completely unacceptable.

Scout Hut – The latest plan amended 30/6/26 shows the scout hut in a more central position on the green open space.  This actually represents a reduction in the open space provision and is a loss to the Parish and is a ‘gift’ at no cost to the developer. The space has not been allocated from within the Neighbourhood Plan development area PDS8. Notwithstanding the size of the site which hasn’t been considered at this stage, the PC accepts this location subject to funding.

Funding and construction of the Scout Hut by the developer is a prerequisite as neither the Scouts nor the Parish Council has funding or is prepared to take procurement risk on something which is within the developers means and skills.  The developer has been told this on multiple occasions including the fact that the present site (owned by yourselves not WSCC) will not contribute to fund any works as it is highly compromised by a water easement. We are happy to liaise with the developer to agree plans and specification but they must fund and procure this project as did A2 Dominion for the tennis club on Brick Lane and the developer and landowner for the cricket club.

Drainage – This is a major concern of the Parish Council.  Hayes Lane has history of flooding both upstream and downstream of the development and we have CCTV surveys showing some serious damage to the drain along Hayes Lane caused by tree roots and utilities.  We appreciate the developer cannot take responsibility for issues outside the impact of the development however it equally cannot rely on a system which is not capable of serving it.  This needs to be fixed regardless of who, WSCC, Southern Water or developer undertakes this.  Simply discharging into a broken system is not acceptable. We have requested, and the developer has provisionally agreed, a contribution of £15k to fund an engineer to act on behalf of the PC to ensure this matter is resolved.  This should be safeguarded in any s106.

Affordable Housing – It is essential that all affordable provision is provided on site and not commuted to sums.  We understand the difficulties of securing providers at this smallish scale but we want to stress that HDC and the developer must come to an onsite solution to provide much needed affordable homes for the parish. We have potential solutions and are having discussions with a number of parties to try and secure this, including your housing colleagues, and we would welcome your assistance in pressing the developer to work with us.

Quality Design – We have stressed the importance of high quality design to the developer beginning with siting and access (for this outline application) and as the design develops we want to be fully involved.  The developer has given us reassurance that this is their objective too.  In the first instance we want to explore options for a better access and egress to the site as the current location close to the Downslink does raise safety concerns.  The developer has agreed to explore this with us including potential for a secondary access to spread the load along Hayes Lane (which may mean sacrificing some trees in the boundary – albeit sensitive, road systems outlive trees and we want the best solution).

In due course as detail design progresses we will be looking at good quality landscape buffering along the Downslink and along the footpath.

Pedestrian Safety- Hayes Lane is already a busy road and 38 additional dwellings would result in a significant increase in daily traffic. Therefore, a transport impact assessment should be carried out, paying special attention to the Downs Link crossing, investigating options for mitigation such as a zebra or courtesy crossings to ensure pedestrian safety.

Number of units – The Parish Council has objected to 38 units which is significantly in excess of the aspirations of the early Neighbourhood Plan.  However, if the development can secure all of the above requirements the Parish Council would be minded to consider supporting the scheme at 38 units.  This has been a highly controversial site with many refusals over the years – we urge the developer to work with us on this application so we can come behind it and see it deliver a strong scheme for Slinfold with public support.