Agenda item

For details of members’ personal interests arising from their membership of parish councils or West Sussex County Council or from their being Chichester District Council or West Sussex County Council or parish council appointees to outside organisations or members of outside bodies or from being employees of such organisations or bodies, please refer to pages 1 to 2 of this agenda.

Such interests are hereby disclosed by each member in respect of agenda items in the schedule of planning applications where the council or outside body concerned has been consulted in respect of that particular item or application.

Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are to be made by members of the Planning Committee in respect of matters on the agenda or this meeting.

The obligation to make declarations of interests related to agenda items 5 to 16, 18 and 20 inclusive.

A – Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

Disclosable pecuniary interests have been introduced by section 30 of the Localism Act 2011 and are set out in paras 3 to 7 of Part 3 of Chichester District Council’s (CDC) Code of Conduct adopted on Tuesday 9 October 2012. They are interests that either the member has or is aware that his or her partner has. Where such an interest exists, the member concerned must declare it. Unless the member has previously received a dispensation to do so from the Monitoring Officer, he or she may not participate in any discussion of or in any vote taken on that item of business. The member concerned must move to the public seating area for the duration of the item of business in question and from that area he or she may make representations, answer questions or give evidence relating to that item of business, provided that he or she has received a dispensation from the Monitoring Officer to do so.

There were no declarations of a disclosable pecuniary interest made at this meeting.

B - Personal Interests

Personal interests are defined in paras 8 and 9 of Part 4 of CDC’s Code of Conduct adopted on Tuesday 9 October 2012. They include (as set out on pages 1 and 2 of the agenda for this meeting) membership of parish councils, West Sussex County Council, outside organisations or public bodies where those local authorities, organisations or bodies have been consulted in respect of an item in the schedule of planning applications or another relevant agenda item.

Miss Golding explained that the personal interests set out on pages 1 and 2 of the agenda were to be taken as having been declared by the member concerned in respect of the relevant planning applications in agenda items 5 to 16 inclusive where such consultations had taken place.

There were five members of the Planning Committee who made the following declarations of personal interests:

Mr Barrett declared a personal interest in respect of planning applications BO/15/01507/ FUL (agenda item 5) and WW/15/02328/REG3 (agenda item 15) as a Chichester District Council appointed member of the Chichester Harbour Conservancy. 

Mrs Duncton declared a personal interest in respect of planning applications BO/15/01507/ FUL (agenda item 5), D/15/01583/OUT (agenda item 6), BX/15/02463/FUL (agenda item 7), CC/14/03681/REG3 (agenda item 8), CH/15/02332/FUL (agenda item 10) and TG/15/ 02310/OUT (agenda item 11) as a member of West Sussex County Council.

Mrs Kilby declared a personal interest in respect of planning applications CC/14/03681/ REG3 (agenda item 8) and CC/15/02466/DOM (agenda item 9) as a member of Chichester City Council. 

Mr Oakley declared a personal interest in respect of planning application TG/15/02310/ OUT (agenda item 11) as a member of Tangmere Parish Council.

Mr Oakley declared a personal interest in respect of planning applications BO/15/01507/ FUL (agenda item 5), D/15/01583/OUT (agenda item 6), BX/15/02463/FUL (agenda item 7), CC/14/03681/REG3 (agenda item 8), CH/15/02332/FUL (agenda item 10) and TG/15/ 02310/OUT (agenda item 11) as a member of West Sussex County Council.

Mr Plowman declared a personal interest in respect of planning applications CC/14/03681/ REG3 (agenda item 8) and CC/15/02466/DOM (agenda item 9) as a member of Chichester City Council.

In addition the following two CDC members, although they were not members of the Planning Committee, each had a personal interest by virtue of addressing the Planning Committee as a CDC ward member:

Mr H C Potter had a personal interest in respect of planning application BX/15/02463/FUL (agenda item 7) as a member of Boxgrove Parish Council, which was a consultee.

Mr J Ridd had a personal interest in respect of planning application D/15/01583/OUT (agenda item 6) as a member of Donnington Parish Council, which was a consultee.

C - Prejudicial Interests

A personal interest which is also a prejudicial interest is defined in para 12 of Part 4 of CDC’s Code of Conduct adopted on Tuesday 9 October 2012.

Where a member has a prejudicial interest he or she must declare it and move to the public seating area for the duration of the relevant item. That member may not participate in any discussion of or vote taken on that item. The member is entitled, however, to make representations, answer questions or give evidence relating to that item of business on the basis that the public is allowed to attend the meeting for that same purpose.

There were two declarations of a prejudicial interest made at this meeting as follows:

Mr Hall declared a prejudicial interest in respect of planning application BX/15/02463/FUL (agenda item 7) as he was a friend of the applicant and his wife.

Mr Cullen declared a prejudicial interest in respect of planning application BX/15/02463/ FUL (agenda item 7) as the applicant (a) had had an association with his business and (b) was a friend of his.  

D – Pre-Determination or Bias

The concept of pre-determination or bias is explained in para 14 of Part 4 of CDC’s Code of Conduct adopted on Tuesday 9 October 2012.

A member should not be prohibited from participating in a decision in his or her political role as a member on account of having been involved in campaigning in his or her political role on an issue which does not impact on his or her personal and/or professional life. However a member should not place himself or herself under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence that member in the performance of his or her official duties. A member must retain the ability to consider the matter with an open mind and to give proper consideration to all the facts and information relevant to the decision.

Furthermore, when making a decision a member should consider the matter with an open mind and on the facts at the meeting at which the decision is to be taken.

There were no declarations of predetermination or bias made at this meeting.

Planning Applications

As previously stated by the chairman, no items had been deferred or withdrawn from the agenda. 

The Planning Committee considered in turn each of the reports for the planning applications listed in the agenda and the agenda update sheet which had been published in the late afternoon of the previous day and circulated immediately prior to the start of this meeting (copies attached to the official minutes). The agenda update sheet summarised the observations and amendments which had arisen since the despatch of the agenda.

Officers provided oral updates to the agenda update sheet where appropriate.

During the presentations by officers of the applications, members viewed photographs, plans, drawings, computerised images and artist impressions which were displayed on the screens or, where permitted by the chairman, shown or circulated by speakers. 

RESOLVED

That the Planning Committee makes the following decisions in respect of agenda items 5 to 16 inclusive (minute paras 279 to 290 respectively and inclusive) subject to the stated observations and amendments.