Establishing a positive relationship with Officers at South Downs National Park, and undertaking pre-application meetings meant that the design and materials of the proposed store were not changed following submission. The building has been designed to BREEAM Excellent standards and will provide the largest green roof on a commercial building in the National Park to date.
The site was formerly occupied by the Estee Lauder UK Headquarters but had been vacant since 2015 with the buildings on the site demolished in 2018. Previous applications for redevelopment of the site had been refused and dismissed at appeal.
Pre-application meetings took place with Officers in March 2020 and September 2020. Following these meetings an application for the redevelopment of the site was submitted in November 2020. The application was accompanied by detailed information addressing retail matters and demonstrating that the site had been advertised in accordance with the policy allocation.
Following the validation of the application, Planning Potential maintained an open dialogue with Officers and provided additional information and responses to statutory consultees where necessary. Through the pre-application process the design and use of materials was extensively discussed, this meant that following submission no amendments were required to the building. The scheme meets BREEAM Excellent and also provides the largest green roof delivered to date within the South Downs National Park.
Planning Potential were successful in setting out to Officers and Members that the benefits of the redevelopment of the site outweighed any concerns relating to the proposed development. Our efforts to foster a positive relationship with officers was crucial in the determination process of the application.
The application was taken to committee with a recommendation for approval and was approved at Planning Committee in November 2021.
