A 50-bed care home can now be built on a field next to a listed Sussex park after a planning inspector overturned a council’s refusal.
A planning inspector last week approved Signature Care Sussex Limited’s plans to build a residential care home on undeveloped land to the west of Coopers Green Road, near Uckfield.
The site has been subject to two similar applications in the recent past. These schemes, which date back to 2019, also sought permission to build a care home on the land and were both refused due to concerns around their impact on: the area’s rural setting; ecology; the Ashdown Forest; and the nearby heritage asset of Buxted Park.
Wealden District Council turned down the appeal scheme in December last year, citing similar reasons for refusal to the previous schemes.
In a report at the time, a Wealden planning spokesman said: “There is intrinsic harm from the loss of an open field within the rural setting, in a relatively undeveloped area, and adjacent to a Grade II* Registered Park and Garden (Buxted Park).
“This harm has previously been identified in two previous refusals for a similar scheme on the site. Notwithstanding design amendments to the previous scheme, the building would still be highly noticeable and dominant within the street scene, would erode this open rural setting, and would be detrimental to the visual amenity and character of the surrounding area.”
The spokesman added: “In this instance, it is concluded that on balance, taking account of the above assessment, the adverse impacts of the proposal, including upon areas or assets of particular importance as detailed in the main body of the report, would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of providing a care home … and planning permission should be refused.”
The inspector reached a different conclusion, however, judging the visual impact of the scheme to be less significant than the council argued.
In their decision notice, the inspector said: “The location would introduce development to the eastern side of the road, where there is a more open and rural character. Meadows to the north and south would be retained and the proposal would sit between.
“To this extent, it would appear prominent in the street scene, and it would be a noticeable change.
“However, change does not necessarily result in harm, and given the set back from the road, existing housing opposite the site, low height of the building, high quality design, and the proposed and existing landscaping, it would satisfactorily assimilate into this setting over time.”
The inspector also went on to note how the council’s Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) — a document which forms part of the evidence base for the district’s emerging local plan — identifies the site and land to its north and south as suitable for residential development.
The inspector said this identification had limited weight but “does provide some comfort that the council considers that sensitive development could be accommodated on this eastern part of Coopers Green Road.”
For their part, Wealden planning officers had noted the results of the SHELAA in their original report, but also stressed how it had said any development on the land “would require the provision of substantial landscape buffers to protect and reinforce the landscape structure of the site.”
Ultimately, the inspector judged the scheme to be acceptable and granted planning permission subject to conditions.
For further information see application reference WD/2023/0947/MAJ on the Wealden District Council website.
