Revised Proposals
Following the refusal and subsequent consultation in November 2022, we’ve updated our proposals for our project and detailed our revisions here. We appreciate those who attended and the feed-back we have received in person and by return. We have considered the history of the site, the objections and reasons for refusal of previous schemes, including ours, and the comments from the latest consultation. Taking that all into account we will now submit a revised application for consideration by Adur in 2023.
On this page you will find all of the information regarding the amendments and new plans for the project.
Previous schemes for the site by other developers submitted in 2007 and 2017 have been roundly rejected as being too dense and too high. They also crucially failed to comply with the lighting restrictions of the harbour amongst other criticisms.
The Cayuga proposal has been agreed as being compliant with the lighting requirements of the harbour and has a density almost exactly on the minimum requirement of 100 dwellings per hectare (dph) at 101 dph. We are therefore compliant with the harbour arm element of the Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) as well as being the lowest density of any scheme on the harbour arm.
The JAAP makes clear that developments up to 5 storeys will be acceptable. It further states that greater storey heights “may be acceptable” and that at our site (WH1) the setting of the lighthouse will need to be considered to allow this. As a result, the council asked the South East Design Panel to consider our proposal as an independent consultee. Their report makes clear they considered that the design was proportional. Further, the planning officers and heritage consultant concluded that, in the language of national planning policy, there was “less than substantial harm” to the lighthouse. This is the lowest rating (and therefore best) any new development here could be given. Additionally the height of the flats is only the same height as the block behind at the approved Kingston Wharf development, so we are not creating any taller precedent and lowering the block of flats would not create a vastly different view from the East.
We therefore consider that the density, height and impact of our scheme are all acceptable and compliant with the local and national planning policy. This was reflected in the recommendation for approval in September.
When this previous application was refused, two reasons were given. One was a requirement for a S106 agreement, which Cayuga remain happy to enter into once produced.
The other, primary reason stated:
“The proposal by reason of its scale, height and design, is considered to cause harm to the setting and the significance of the designated heritage asset, Kingston Bucci lighthouse. Whilst this is considered to be less than substantial harm, the Local Planning Authority does not consider that there are public benefits of the proposal sufficient to outweigh this harm, the under provision of affordable housing provision contributes to this lack of outweighing public benefit.”
Therefore all agree there is “less than substantial harm” and as such the reason for refusal is solely the lack of Affordable Housing and perceived lack of public benefit. Given the long list of qualifying public benefits and that the viability assessment was accepted by Adur, which included a contribution towards off-site affordable, Cayuga disagree that this should have led to a refusal and fully expect the Appeal to be successful.
However, Cayuga do appreciate that other points were raised by both local residents and councillors both prior to and at the committee meeting and would like to use the opportunity for a second application to address these, with a view to achieving approval at committee in early 2023. Below is a list of the comments / objections heard from councillors and residents, and the action taken by Cayuga for its next submission.
FACT SHEET
45 UNITS - 21 Houses + 24 Flats
COMMERCIAL UNIT - 645 sqft Cafe Space
54,279 sqft - Total Habitable Space
61 Car parking spaces - EV Charging Points
New Harbour Wall Path
New cycle path to A259
TYPE - Public Private Partnership
DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS - Details to follow
LOCATION - Harbour Arm, Shoreham
ARCHITECTS - LRA-R
Affordable Housing
As part of the original application Cayuga committed to an off-site contribution of £180,000 towards Affordable Housing. In conjunction with a small drop in steel prices reducing the river wall and concrete frame cost, Cayuga will now offer 5 on-site Shared Ownership units instead of the contribution, or a contribution of £500,000.00. It should be noted that no Registered Provider will consider a small number of Affordable Rent so this is not an available option. All other section 106 infrastructure contributions (in excess of £570,000.00) will remain the same including financial contributions towards County Council junction capacity improvements, bus service improvements and local health and education provision.
Lack of a children’s play area
The landscaped area between the East and South rows of houses will be built as a children’s play area, suitably secure from the car parking area.
Use of gas for central heating
Cayuga will commit to no gas - Air Source Heat Pumps will be provided to each house and a centralised system to the flats. Solar PV will remain in addition.
Surface water drainage
It will always be the case that a site of this size will require a surface water drainage condition to be applied. However, Cayuga’s consultant has worked with Adur’s drainage officer and will now submit an updated report that addresses the queries raised last time. This should lead to the bare minimum of conditionality.
Fire Safety
Cayuga’s fire safety consultant and architect, LRA-R, have adapted the plans to suit Health and safety Executives requirements so this does not require further changes after approval. These changes were minimal.
Electric vehicle parking
Cayuga will commit to EV points for every parking space.
Parking provision
It was felt unclear what parking was being provided and there was concern it was not enough. To clarify:
Flats - 16 spaces, plus 2 disabled spaces and one for the commercial unit. Total 19. This exceeds average car ownership levels for existing Adur residents living in apartment accommodation by four spaces (based on 1,272 flats found across the Census area). It should also be noted Cayuga have committed to providing 6 months bus passes to each resident on request free of charge, plus to work with the neighbouring site to provide a Car Club scheme. Residents will be given 2 years free membership.
Houses - 19 of the 21 houses have undercroft parking and 17 of those houses also have a driveway space. There is a working space each for the two houses without undercroft or driveways and a further 4 visitor bays. This gives a total of 42 spaces for 21 houses, which also significantly exceeds parking and car ownership behaviour across the wider area (based on 3,032 houses within the Census area). Bus passes and Car Club scheme membership provisions for house owners are the same as for flat owners.
'Square' nature of the design/lack of nautical feel.
Cayuga’s architects produced 3 alternate roof shapes and showed these at the consultation. After talks with residents, officers and councillors it was clear that the “saw tooth” roof was the most popular, while also providing the best roof shape for solar panels, which will be installed. The new application will be amended to this shape, as below
Concerns over access to new housing to the South side of the A259.
Some residents were concerned over how access to the new housing all along the harbour arm would be provided for residents. Cayuga can confirm that existing infrastructure improvements are already approved including new pedestrian crossings.
In conclusion, Cayuga’s scheme complies with the height, density and other requirements of the Joint Area Action Plan including provision of coastal walk and cycle path. It is approved by the Harbour Master with regards to lighting and an updated report on drainage has been produced that deals with the previously raised queries. Further, Cayuga have listened to the comments of residents and councillors regarding a number of issues raised and have responded to each in turn, qualifying answers and making alterations to the proposal where required. On that basis Cayuga will now submit a proposal which should be validated by Adur in the first week of January for consideration.
Lastly, we wish to express that we firmly appreciate the views of residents and councillors in helping us improve the scheme since our just submission. The site, by nature of its constraints of width, location next to the harbour entrance and lighthouse, plus the initial costs of replacing a substantial harbour wall without building a high density scheme to pay for it, all represent significant hurdles to overcome to produce a scheme that is compliant with all the required local and national planning policies. We feel the changes made, including to roof shapes and landscaping improve the scheme, softening its visual impact and making a better, more sustainable development for the future. We were further grateful that a good number of residents made clear that they were now accepting of the proposals and were pleased with the changes.
Thank you
Proposed New River Walkway
