A former day care centre will be demolished to make way for 14 new homes in Crowborough, despite the town council calling for the plans to be thrown out.
Wealden District Council (WDC) has signalled the green light to the housing development at the site of a previous day centre for adults with learning difficulties in Southview Close and opposite Crowborough Hospital.
WDC agreed a revised plan for the site, which has seen the number of proposed new houses reduced from 19 to 14. But it has also set more than 30 planning conditions relating to the development.
The decision was made in spite of 50 letters of objection sent by neighbouring residents, and on-going opposition from the town council. It had criticised the scheme as overdevelopment and said there was “wholly inadequate parking provision”.
Crowborough Town Council also raised concerns about road safety for pedestrians and the knock-on effect there could be on parking at the hospital, as well as access for emergency services. Residents objections covered a wide range of issues but included similar concerns about the hospital, overdevelopment of the site, parking and overlooking.
The former day care was declared surplus to operational needs by East Sussex County Council (ESCC) in 2022. It had moved the services for adults with learning difficulties to Hookstead in 2016. Ironically, Hookstead was the centre ear-marked for closure in ESCC’s budget cuts earlier this year and it was only saved following an 11th hour u-turn.
In its response to the planning application ESCC’s Highways department said 14 new homes would normally require 29 parking spaces. While this development would be five short of that, it said the good public transport access meant it had no objection – as long as improvements were made to the two nearest bus stops.
In considering both sides, the WDC planning officer said the site was within the development boundary for Crowborough and was not overdevelopment. Additionally, the officer said, WDC was 788 short in the number of new properties it is required to identify in the next five years. It has 6,328 new dwellings on identified sites – falling short of the 7,116 required under the National Planning Policy Framework.
The officer added the developer had responded to concerns raised by the council and residents about the design, appearance and layout of the scheme.
The officer concluded: “The development of the site for 14 dwellings represents a density of 25 dwellings per hectare, which is not unreasonable in this sustainable location, making efficient use of land.
“In this instance, while the objections to the proposal have been noted, the development site is located within a defined development boundary where development is supported. Similarly, the contribution of 14 additional dwellings to the Council’s housing land supply also holds significant weight.”