Why was the application advertised as a departure from planning policies?

Among the many policies which have to be considered, there are a few the application does not comply with, to do with:

• the visual impact of development on the adjacent Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
• the loss of areas for the storage and processing of crushed rock and marine aggregates at North Quay.

For these reasons the application was advertised by site notices and a public notice in the Sussex Express as a 'departure from planning policies'.

Comments were reported to the Planning Committee when it considered the application. As the Committee’s view is that planning permission should be granted, all original and further comments received as a result of the advertisement, were forwarded to the Secretary of State, Ruth Kelly. She considered whether to 'call in' the application for her decision, but decided to allow the County Council to grant the permission.

Read the letter from the Government Office for the South East (GOSE).

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