Hailsham apartment building given thumbs up after revisions

On Thursday (November 5), Wealden District Council’s planning committee south approved proposals to build a block of 35 flats as part of the Burfield Valley development site, which sits on land off of Battle Road.

An earlier version of the scheme had been considered by the committee in January, but was deferred as councillors asked developers to come forward with an alternative, less imposing, design.

The revised scheme is broadly similar to what was proposed earlier in the year, but has smaller balconies, larger windows and uses a different material. It also included cycle storage as an additional feature.

Cllr Phillip Lunn (Con, Crowborough South East) said: “On the face of it, it does seem all the points of concern have been comprehensively addressed and personally I think the design improvement demonstrates that the developer and architects listened to what members had to say at the meeting on January 30. 

“Personally I would like to go along with the officers’ recommendation and on that basis I am willing to propose approval.”

Some other committee members felt differently about the proposals, however.

Those to raise concerns around the sewerage included Cllr Neil Cleaver (Lib Dem, Hailsham North East), who argued that issues with sewerage within Hailsham meant further development would be inappropriate. No objections had been raised by Southern Water.

Cllr Cleaver also raised concerns about the removal of an oak tree from the site as part of the development plans.

He said: “A couple of months ago Sir David Attenborough and Prince William were talking about old trees and leaving them in the ground. Do not cut them down and plant more trees.

“Back in January it was stated it was one tree, now we are talking about three trees. I would like to put in for refusal on this application on the grounds of cutting down trees.”

Officers, however, confirmed it was only one tree to be removed, with two replacement oak trees to be planted as part of the development. 

Despite some councillors concerns, the scheme was approved following a short discussion. It was approved with seven votes for and three against.

The proposed development is for 35 flats comprising a mix of one and two-bedroom units over three to four floors. The fourth floor is to be set back in order to provide flats with terraces. 

The mix of units comprises eight one-bed units, 27 two bed units and one three bed unit.

While approved by the committee, full planning permission is not to be granted unless the developer can satisfy Natural England with plans to address drainage issues on the site. 

The apartment building comes as part of a wider, now mostly built out, development in the surrounding area. 

During the meeting, councillors heard that some residents of the built housing had raised concerns around build quality. Planning officers said they were aware of such an issue, but it was not an issue related to planning permission.

For further information on the scheme see application reference  WD/2018/0122/MAJ on the Wealden District Council website.