Controversial proposals for a housing development in Wivelsfield Green have been turned down at appeal.
In a decision notice published last month, a planning inspector has dismissed an appeal connected with proposals to build six houses on land in Slugwash Lane — marking the end of a long-running application process.
The scheme, from developer Remmus Designer Homes Limited, had been due for discussion by Lewes District Council’s planning committee in January last year.
While it had been recommended for approval at the time, consideration was deferred as a result of an objection connected to the scheme’s impact on a nearby 17th century house, Baldings.
The council received 83 letters of objection from local residents.
Following further assessment of the heritage impact, council officers had been minded to change their recommendation from approval to refusal.
According to appeal documents, this likely change in position was first communicated to the applicant in May, resulting in the submission of an appeal on grounds of non-determination.
During the appeal process, council officers confirmed that they would have recommended refusal on two grounds: “loss of distinctive landscape character” in Slugwash Lane; and harm to the setting of Baldings, a nearby Grade II listed building.
These concerns were shared by the planning inspector, who judged the harms resulting from the scheme would outweigh its benefits.
In their decision notice, the planning inspector said: “For the reasons given above, even when the collective public benefits of the proposal are taken into account, that would not outweigh the harm to the setting of the listed building.
“Consequently, there is a strong reason for refusing the development based on policies in the [National Planning Policy] Framework that protect areas or assets of particular importance, in this case the designated heritage asset.”
As a result of this view, the planning inspector dismissed the appeal.
In a separate process, the planning inspector also dismissed an application for costs.
The developer had argued the council had acted unreasonably in its handling of the application, pointing to delays, lack of communication and inconsistency in decision-making.
While the planning inspector agreed the council had behaved unreasonably, they also concluded this had not resulted in “unnecessary costs” for the developer.
The inspector said: “While there was unreasonable behaviour by the council, in relation to consistency and the level of delay and lack of communication, based on the evidence before me it has not been demonstrated that the appeal could have been avoided or that unnecessary costs were incurred in the appeal process as a result.
“Therefore, unreasonable behaviour resulting in unnecessary or wasted expense has not occurred and an award of costs is not warranted.”
For further information on the proposals see application reference LW/23/0532 on the Lewes District Council website.
