Plans to redevelop the disused former police station in Crowborough and create three new homes have been thrown out.
Wealden District Council’s planning committee rejected the plans which had attracted 11 letters of objection, despite its own planning officers recommending they should go ahead.
The proposal for the site on the corner of North Beeches Road and Crowborough Hill was to turn the former police station building into a four-bedroomed house.
The plans also involved the demolition of the flat-roof extension to the building, and two new houses built on land behind and beside the building. These would have been a four-bedroomed house and a three-bedroomed chalet bungalow.
The existing row of garages would have been removed and the applicant said each of the three new houses would have two parking spaces on the site. The proposal had also been designed to involve minimal alterations to the original building, to allow the design of the neo-Georgian Building to be retained.
The Wealden District Council Minors Planning Committee heard that there had been no objections raised to the proposals by Crowborough Town Council nor ESCC Highways. Comments had been made about the design of the development, however, to preserve the heritage of the former police station building.
Officers said that while there were some minor negative impacts on adjoining neighbouring properties “overall, it is clear the benefits of the proposal attract significant weight”. They said those impacts were “restricted to relatively limited overlooking in three cases and some overshadowing to garden space in one case”.
But councillors did not agree. They were more concerned about its impact on the surrounding area — in particular the potential loss of privacy for neighbours, and also the about the heritage impact of the proposals, noting how the former police station building is considered to be a Non-Designated Heritage Asset (NDHA).
The applicant can appeal to the Government’s Planning Inspectorate against WDC’s decision.