Officers back auction room move bid

Lewes District Council's planning committee, meeting on Wednesday, will be told by officers that, should it get the go-ahead, the well known auction house intends to offer a minibus service to and from Cooksbridge Railway Station to encourage sustainable modes of transport.

The auction house attracts antique collectors from all over East Sussex and beyond, but it has outgrown its premises in Lewes where it has been operating for more than 60 years.

Thirty-one jobs will be lost to Lewes if the company moves.

The auctioneers plan to convert one-and-a-half acres of land and farm buildings to a regional auction gallery, complete with parking and restaurant.

The council's planning committee will be told that Barcombe Parish Council had made no objection in principle but was concerned about parking provision.

Seven letters had been received about increases in traffic, congestion of local roads and unsightly parking.

But the applicant's agent said the main three-day auctions occurred only eight times a year. Weekly auctions also occurred which attracted between 30 and 50 people.

An officer's report states: 'The site is in the countryside and some distance from the nearest services.

'However, the proposal would result in the re-use of redundant farm buildings which are ideally suited to provide a large display area for the auction gallery.

'It is considered that, with the minibus service, the proposed use will not generate unacceptable volumes of traffic.'