Page 134 - All files for Planning Inspectorate

WEST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL CONSULTATION

TO: Mid Sussex District Council
FAO: Steve King

FROM: WSCC - Highways Authority
DATE: 21 May 2019

LOCATION: Wealden House Lewes Road
East Grinstead
RH19 3TB
SUBJECT: DM/19/1025

Proposed new build residential development
consisting of 54 units following the demolition of all
existing site buildings.

DATE OF SITE VISIT: Previoulsy in July 2018 when assessing DM/18/1548

RECOMMENDATION: No Objection
S106 CONTRIBUTION TOTAL: N/A

Summary and Background-The site is currently occupied by an office building, which
was formerly occupied by EDF Energy. The existing building has a gross external floor
area of 3,057 square metres with 64 car parking spaces and an additional, informal,
overflow parking area.

WSCC in its role of Local Highway Authority (LHA) previously commented on an
application (DM/18/1548) for 71 dwellings in July 2018. At this time the LHA did not
raise an objection to the proposals. The application was subsequently refused by the
Local Planning Authority (LPA) in March 2019.

This latest development proposes 54 dwellings. The 54 dwellings comprise one and
two-bedroom units with 67 car parking spaces provided at the site. Communal cycle
parking is also provided, with 52 cycle parking spaces across the development site.

The application is supported by a Transport Statement (TS); this includes TRICS data.
Upon inspection of the information and statements submitted the LHA would support the
proposals, additional comments and clarity is provided within the response below.

Access-Vehicular access to the proposed development will be taken via the existing
access onto the A22 Lewes Road, which includes a right turn lane for vehicles accessing
the site. Pedestrian and cycle access will be via the same access, with the access road
forming a shared surface environment within the site.

Vehicular access for the site will be taken via the existing access arrangement onto the
A22 Lewes Road. This existing access point includes a Right Turn Lane (RTL), for vehicles
accessing the site which is considered a benefit to the proposed development
given the higher volumes of traffic Lewes Road caters for.
At this point Lewes Road is subject to a 30 miles per hour speed limit. In accordance
with Manual for Streets (MfS) parameters 43 metres of visibility are achievable from a
2.4 metre ‘X’ distance in both directions. The road is a straight road, with footways offset
from the carriageway edge, there are no visibility issues from the existing site access,
with all land required for the visibility splay located within the highway boundary. The

Bates No 000133