Layout and appearance of new 265 homes in Steyning approved
The layout and appearance of 265 homes in Steyning have been approved by Horsham District Council.
An application for land north of Glebe Farm and Kings Barn Lane, was given the thumbs-up by the planning committee in September – though it fell to chairman Len Ellis-Brown (Green, Pulborough, Coldwaltham & Amberley) to use his deciding vote to give final approval.
The look of the development was approved on Tuesday (December 16).
The original plans sparked a flood of objections from residents. A spokesman for applicant Vistry Homes Ltd said residents had been listened to and their views had led to some changes to the scheme.
They included not using gas for heating, changing the position and orientation of some of the homes adjacent to Kings Barn Lane, adding ground and air heat source pumps, using sensitive lighting, and coming up with the sort of homes needed by more than 150 Steyning households on the housing register.
Victoria Finnegan (Green, Steyning and Ashurst) told the meeting: “Vistry must continue engaging with residents, the parish, the councillors so this becomes a flagship development for the town.”
The development will include 17 one-bedroom homes, 56 two-bedroom, 28 three-bedroom and five four-bedroom, all of which will be classed as affordable.
The rest will be 21 two-bedroom homes, 64 three-bedroom, 57 four-bedroom, and 17 five-bedroom, all for the open market.
Concerns were raised about the battery energy storage system (BESS) which sits near the development site.
Dennis Livingstone (Lib Dem, Nuthurst and Lower Beeding) – who is a member of the Institute of Fire Engineers – was not happy with the quality of fire suppression equipment at the BESS.
His concerns about explosions and the release of toxic gas should there be a fire saw him suggest a deferment while the issue was explored.
But the proposal received no support following advice from the council’s solicitor who said the committee had ‘absolutely no power’ to ask the BESS operator for anything. She added: “This application is of no consequence to them.”
The council’s planning officer said the required distance between the BESS and the nearest home had been met and even exceeded, professional advice had been received from the county’s fire safety officer, and an assessment had shown that the development would be down-wind.
Responding to the solicitor’s comment, Mr Livingstone responded: “It will be a consequence to residents if an incident occurs – and it could be a very serious incident.”
To view the application, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/25/1138.