Plans to build an apartment building in Hailsham have been turned down at appeal.
In a decision notice published earlier this month, a planning inspector has dismissed proposals to build a two-storey apartment building on land to the rear of 72 High Street.
The proposals involved the demolition of an existing bungalow and garages to make way for the new building, which had been set to contain four one-bedroom apartments.
Wealden District Council planners refused the scheme in March last year, due to concerns about its impact on the Hailsham Conservation Area.
In a report at the time a council planning spokesman said: “The proposal would fail to preserve those elements of the setting that make a positive contribution to the heritage assets or which better reveal their significance.
“Whilst this harm would be less than substantial, it would nonetheless be a noticeable and significant adverse impact that would outweigh the limited public benefits of the addition of four new one-bedroom apartments on the site.”
The applicant challenged this view, arguing the need for additional housing in Wealden should have resulted in the scheme being approved.
But the inspector shared the council’s concerns about the impact of the scheme. In the decision notice, the inspector said: “Demolition of the bungalow would eliminate any remaining opportunity to appreciate the historic relationship between no. 72 and the 19th century buildings which originally lay to the rear. Consequently, the harm arising from total loss of this Non-designated Heritage Asset would be significant, notwithstanding its altered appearance and current condition.
“Loss of the bungalow would also be harmful to the significance of the Conservation Area as a whole, which includes the survival of buildings revealing the 19th century evolution of the settlement.”
The inspector added: “While there are a number of positive considerations… given the small scale of the proposal the public benefits are inherently modest in extent. Even when considered collectively, they carry modest positive weight.
“As such, the public benefits of the proposal do not outweigh the less than substantial harm to the significance of the Conservation Area, which carries considerable importance and weight.”
In light of this view, the inspector opted to dismiss the appeal. For further information see application reference WD/2022/0005/F on the Wealden District Council website.
