Plans to remodel a Hastings youth club are set to go in front of county councillors next week.
On Wednesday (December 11), East Sussex County Council’s planning committee is due to consider an application seeking permission to refurbish and reconfigure Hollington Youth Hub in Wishing Tree Road North.
According to council papers, the proposals are intended to “boost the capacity of the building”, as well as to improve its appearance and accessibility.
In a report to the committee, a county council planning spokesman said: “The purpose of the development is to benefit existing users of the facility and attract more visitors from the local area.
“The current youth centre facility is only able to support up to around 35 people, which include the centre users as well as the staff. At present, the centre is only able to work with approximately 80 young people every week.
“It is anticipated that the proposals will boost the capacity of the building [so it] could have up to around 75 persons on the site at any one time, working with approximately 160 young people per week.
“The proposed internal reconfigurations and extensions aim to improve the functionality of the building by providing improvements to the layout and larger spaces to accommodate youth activities.”
Officers go on to say the proposals also aim to improve both the youth hub’s accessibility and the appearance of the original Victorian building at the centre of the facility.
This will involve the demolition of several existing extensions, which would then be replaced with new extensions to the building’s side and rear.
These new extensions will include a new covered entrance space, which would take the form of a timber and glass structure.
The refurbishment would also involve the creation of a new café and seating area, but planning officers say this additional feature would require the youth hub’s sports hall to be reduced in size by 3.9 metres.
While recommended for approval, the reduction in the sports hall’s size has seen objections raised by Hastings borough councillors Paul Barnett and John Cannan.
In a statement submitted in response to the scheme, Cllr Barnett said: “HBC officers have informed me that the size of the sports hall will be reduced by 25 per cent. This will prevent the following sports from taking place in the new building: badminton; basketball; fussbal; judo; five-a-side football; bowls; [and] volleyball.
“This is unacceptable in the most deprived community in Hastings, a community who love sport and who have asked that sports be a key element of this new facility.
“There are few other sports facilities nearby, and those there are, are at risk, including the adjacent community centre where protracted negotiations with ESCC have not provided a signed lease or any security for the community who manage it.”
Cllr Barnett also argued the sport hall’s reduction in size had not been shared during the consultation events surrounding the planning application. He called for the consultation process to be extended to allow for further consideration in light of this.
For their part, county council planning officers argue the existing hall is already too small to cater for any formal sports other than judo and table tennis. They say the proposed sports hall will continue to meet Sport England’s minimum dimensions for both these sports, so the reduction in size would not result in the loss of any formal provision.
Officers also argue the proposed development would provide an improved sports space overall, as it would ensure the users no longer have to use the hall as a thoroughfare to access other spaces within the building.
The councillors have also raised concerns about the loss of car parking from the site and the remodelled building’s design, in particular its safety due to the potential for young people to climb on top of its roof.
For further information on the proposals see application reference HS/3510/CC on the East Sussex County Council planning website.
