East Sussex residents' needs 'not being met' by housing plans on former bus station site

The Generator Group, the owners of the former station, submitted plans to the South Downs National Park Authority to build 35 residential dwellings, including three houses and 32 flats, as well as 198m2 of commercial floorspace at the Eastgate Street site.

The consultation period for the plans are now open and residents have expressed their views on the proposals, with the majority calling on the National Park to reject them.

A new permanent bus station site has yet to be found in Lewes and residents feel development should not start until one is found.

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Concerns have also been raised about the high number of empty shop buildings already in the town, meaning that locals feel a new commercial space is currently surplus to requirements.

One resident wrote: “Lewes still needs a sheltered bus station for us oldies, young families with buggies and everyone else. As I said before we have a surplus of empty shops including the new ones at the old Magistrates court which have been vacant since 2016 so there is no business case for new commercial space. I'm not sure if the developers have been to Lewes ever.”

Another person added: “The town does not need more private housing nor retail space. The recent increase in the amount of empty shopfronts the full length of the High Street should be a good indication that these units would remain empty and unsightly. They are wholly unnecessary. No-one in Lewes has asked for more private housing nor retail units.”

These plans are the second set of proposals sent by the Generator Group for the bus station site. The first proposal was rejected by the National Park in September 2021 and offered a mixed-use development comprising 3 houses, 37 self-contained flats and 192m2 of ground floor commercial space.

The planning authorities rejected the proposals because they made no provision for the relocation of bus facilities or for affordable housing, something which is required in the authority’s Local Plan.

Furthermore, the scale, massing, roof form and proposed materials was said to result in an ‘overbearing and incongruous form of development’.

According to the new application, officers at the Park Authority have stated that an appropriate financial contribution made by the Generator Group towards the bus station re-provision is an appropriate method of providing a new bus station site.

The new plans also see a reduction in the number of residential units from 40 to 35 dwellings and a reduction in height of the proposed houses adjacent to 27 East Street by one storey of accommodation.

Despite these changes, councillors at East Sussex County Council believe these altered plans should still be rejected by the National Park, as they fail to address the needs of local people.

Councillor Johnny Denis said: “We really don’t think the National Park should be supporting an application like this. It still doesn’t address the core issues of a real bus station that meets people’s needs.

“Without addressing the core question of alternatives for a bus station, it doesn't address the needs of a park for the residents."