Lord Bracknell
On fire
This is a bit technical but, personally, I find it very amusing.
Telscombe Town Council are responsible for Telscombe Tye, an area of open downland between Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven. They wanted to keep traffic and unwelcome visitors off the Tye, so they took advice from the Sussex Downs Conservation Board (who manage the land on behalf of the Town Council) and Lewes District Council.
The Conservation Board advised them that they could build some "bunds" (basically barricades) from inert waste materials. The District Council's Planning Department advised them that planning permission was not required for this type of work.
So the job went ahead. 4,400 cubic metres of waste material were moved on to the site and the bunds were built.
After the work was completed, there were hundreds of complaints from members of the public - and it turned out that planning permission IS needed. So the Town Council had to submit a retrospective planning application to East Sussex County Council's Planning Committee.
On Wednesday, ESCC turned down the planning application. This is an extract from the Report that the councillors considered:-
The bunds affect the character and qualities of the open downland landscape and therefore represent inappropriate development in this sensitive area. In this respect, the development conflicts with Policies EN2, EN3, EN4 and EN7 of the Structure Plan and Policies CT2 and PT15 of the Lewes District Local Plan.
The bunds are likely to encourage the use of unauthorised vehicles such as motorbikes and quad bikes which would affect the quiet enjoyment of the area, thereby conflicting with Policy EN3 of the Structure Plan and Policy CT2 of the Lewes District Local Plan.
The bunds will restrict authorised access on to the Tye and will affect the amenity of its users which conflicts with the aims of Policy PT15 of the Lewes District Local Plan, Policy LT16 of the Structure Plan and Policy WLP35 of the Waste Local Plan.
The bunds contain non-inert waste materials that look unsightly and may be hazardous to users of the Tye. The deposit of both inert and non-inert waste materials has not been justified in relation to the principles of sustainable waste management and does not enhance the landscape or general environment of the Tye, thereby conflicting with Policies W2 & W9 of the Structure Plan and Policies WLP1, WLP21 & WLP24 of the Waste Local Plan.
The bunds are unlikely to provide protection to the Prehistoric cross-dyke. Rather, they represent inappropriate development within the setting of the monument which conflicts with Policy EN23 of the Structure Plan and Policy H9 of the Lewes District Local Plan.
Cattle are required to graze the bunds to meet the requirements of the ESA Scheme being implemented on the Tye. However, due to the steep sides of some of these structures, I do not consider that suitable grazing will be achieved. Instead, the bunds are more likely to support rank vegetation, similar to the original bunds, which could threaten the adjoining chalk grassland flora, thereby conflicting with Policy EN17 of the Structure Plan.
For these reasons, I consider that planning permission should be refused and appropriate enforcement action taken to remove the deposited waste materials.
In other words, our friends at Lewes DC Planning Department and the Sussex Downs Conservation Board don't have a clue. Lewes District Council don't even seem to understand their own Local Plan.
Telscombe Town Council are responsible for Telscombe Tye, an area of open downland between Telscombe Cliffs and Peacehaven. They wanted to keep traffic and unwelcome visitors off the Tye, so they took advice from the Sussex Downs Conservation Board (who manage the land on behalf of the Town Council) and Lewes District Council.
The Conservation Board advised them that they could build some "bunds" (basically barricades) from inert waste materials. The District Council's Planning Department advised them that planning permission was not required for this type of work.
So the job went ahead. 4,400 cubic metres of waste material were moved on to the site and the bunds were built.
After the work was completed, there were hundreds of complaints from members of the public - and it turned out that planning permission IS needed. So the Town Council had to submit a retrospective planning application to East Sussex County Council's Planning Committee.
On Wednesday, ESCC turned down the planning application. This is an extract from the Report that the councillors considered:-
The bunds affect the character and qualities of the open downland landscape and therefore represent inappropriate development in this sensitive area. In this respect, the development conflicts with Policies EN2, EN3, EN4 and EN7 of the Structure Plan and Policies CT2 and PT15 of the Lewes District Local Plan.
The bunds are likely to encourage the use of unauthorised vehicles such as motorbikes and quad bikes which would affect the quiet enjoyment of the area, thereby conflicting with Policy EN3 of the Structure Plan and Policy CT2 of the Lewes District Local Plan.
The bunds will restrict authorised access on to the Tye and will affect the amenity of its users which conflicts with the aims of Policy PT15 of the Lewes District Local Plan, Policy LT16 of the Structure Plan and Policy WLP35 of the Waste Local Plan.
The bunds contain non-inert waste materials that look unsightly and may be hazardous to users of the Tye. The deposit of both inert and non-inert waste materials has not been justified in relation to the principles of sustainable waste management and does not enhance the landscape or general environment of the Tye, thereby conflicting with Policies W2 & W9 of the Structure Plan and Policies WLP1, WLP21 & WLP24 of the Waste Local Plan.
The bunds are unlikely to provide protection to the Prehistoric cross-dyke. Rather, they represent inappropriate development within the setting of the monument which conflicts with Policy EN23 of the Structure Plan and Policy H9 of the Lewes District Local Plan.
Cattle are required to graze the bunds to meet the requirements of the ESA Scheme being implemented on the Tye. However, due to the steep sides of some of these structures, I do not consider that suitable grazing will be achieved. Instead, the bunds are more likely to support rank vegetation, similar to the original bunds, which could threaten the adjoining chalk grassland flora, thereby conflicting with Policy EN17 of the Structure Plan.
For these reasons, I consider that planning permission should be refused and appropriate enforcement action taken to remove the deposited waste materials.
In other words, our friends at Lewes DC Planning Department and the Sussex Downs Conservation Board don't have a clue. Lewes District Council don't even seem to understand their own Local Plan.
