Decision due on Crowhurst homes

On Thursday (January 14), Rother District Council planners are set to consider an application to build four two-bedroom, semi-detached houses on land off of Crowhurst Road.

While the site already has planning permission for two detached homes, the application has seen some significant local opposition, with most objectors raising concerns around an “overdevelopment” of the area.

Among those to raise objections was Crowhurst Parish Council. In a written representation, a spokesman for the parish council said: “This revised application doubles the amount of dwellings, increases parking for ten cars using the driveway and will increase traffic accessing Chapel Hill which is on a curving, blind hill without refuge.

“It is recognised as a busy ‘dangerous’ patch of road with the 30 mile per hour speed limit often not being observed.”

The spokesman added: “If planning application is approved, this development is not required to provide affordable, environmentally friendly or accessible housing for the village, despite recognised need for it. 

“One of the main points of the Crowhurst Neighbourhood Plan is to avoid speculative infill development such as this, which won’t benefit or improve nor address village concerns.”

Similar concerns had been raised by  residents in other letters of objection.

The parish council also argued that as the site is not a named site with its neighbourhood plan or other local planning documents, then it should not be approved.

Council planning officers took a differing view, however.

In a report to the committee, a Rother planning officer said: “The existence of an extant planning permission for the site’s development for two detached houses is a material consideration to which the committee needs to have regard. 

“What this means is that there can be no reasonable grounds to reject development for residential purposes in principle.

“The acceptability of the development, therefore, depends on impact and the detail of what is proposed. 

“Officers take the view that the impact and detail are now acceptable, and the grant of planning permission is appropriate, subject to conditions, 

For further information see application reference RR2020/945/P on the Rother District Council website.