Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 14 December 2022 be approved as a correct record.

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence had been received from Councillor Harp, however he joined the meeting virtually.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were none.

To note the addendum tabled at the meeting which provides an update on the agenda before the Committee.

NOTE:

1.    Plans are reproduced in the agenda for reference purposes only and are not reproduced to scale.  Accordingly dimensions should not be taken from these plans and the originals should be viewed for detailed information. Most drawings in the agenda have been scanned, and reproduced smaller than the original, thus affecting image quality.

It was NOTED that there was no addendum.

For the Planning Committee to consider the Conservation Areas review and consider consultation on the areas identified.

The Head of Planning explained that The Borough currently has 24 Conservation Areas. The Council has a statutory duty to regularly review designations and boundaries, and a review of all boundaries took place in 2007. It was noted that the Committee had considered conservation areas at its meetings over the last couple of years and this was due to the areas concerned requiring designation prior to the broader consultation currently being proposed; this was the final stage of the review process in this round.

The review identified 4 new conservation areas and 9 extensions to existing conservation areas as follows:

Proposed New Conservation Areas

• Gatton (Country House, church & Estate village )

• Blanford Rd (Old English style housing circa 1900)

• Warwick Rd (Victorian housing)

• Horley Row (medieval settlement, with later Georgian and Victorian elements)

Proposed Conservation Area extensions

• Banstead (Medieval church, Lambert estate inc 18th century courthouse &

lodges etc)

• Chipstead (large arts & crafts estate)

• Reigate Hill (Victorian mansions)

• Wray Common (Victorian mansions)

• Redhill (High Street)

• Linkfield Street (Victorian houses)

• St Johns (extension east & west inc arts & crafts houses)

• Church Rd Horley (cemetery plus exclusion of modern housing)

• Massetts Rd (Edwardian villas and Police Station)

It was noted that the hospital in the proposed extension to the Linkfield Street conservation area, as shown in Appendix 1 to the report, was not included.

The Conservation Officer gave the Committee a comprehensive overview of the proposals, for which he was thanked.

The Committee expressed their pleasure regarding many of the proposals within the report. During the meeting members also suggested a number of buildings and areas they felt should be considered within the designations. The Committee was reminded that during the consultation period members and the public were able to suggest changes to the proposals.

A member raised concerns received from members of the public whose properties fell within the proposed designations. Their concerns were around their future ability to improve their homes, for example the installation of energy efficiency products. It was explained that there would be some degree of impact, however the degree of this was perhaps misunderstood. Consideration did need to be given to the impact on the heritage asset against the environmental impact, however it was still possible to install double glazing and photovoltaic panels for example. It was agreed that the consultation letter would also summarise the basic aspects of energy and renewable energy permitted development in the proposed areas, however there was an element of self-learning that was required by residents.

RESOLVED that:

1)    Officers be authorised to formally consult on the areas identified in the Conservation Areas review and report these views back to the Planning Committee for further consideration; and

2)    The consultation letter  will also summarise the basic aspects of energy and renewable energy permitted development in the proposed areas.

To consider any item(s) which, in the opinion of the Chairman, should be considered as a matter of urgency.