East Sussex business loses bid to secure new premises
A road construction firm’s bid to secure new premises in Heathfield have been turned down at appeal.
In a decision notice, a planning inspector has dismissed an appeal connected with proposals put forward by M Jaques Groundworks Ltd — a Heathfield-based road surfacing business.
The business had been seeking planning permission to establish new premises on land adjacent to Oaklands Farm in Newick Lane.
The application, which involved the construction of a storage building and the laying of hardstanding, said the works would take place on “unused agricultural land immediately opposite the county council refuse and recycling plant”.
Wealden District Council refused the proposals in June last year, primarily due to concerns about the impact of development on the High Weald National Landscape (HWNL).
In a report published at the time, a council planning spokesman said the development would be “alien and incongruous” and therefore “fail to preserve the character and appearance of the designated landscape.”
In appeal documents, a spokesman for the applicant said: “The AONB area around Heathfield was designated back in 1983, before a lot of the development now approved and built here subsequently occurred.
“The aerial view below shows the appeal site in relation to the built up area. All of this area is defined as being within the National Landscape. It is clear that the NL boundary requires updating.”
The spokesman added: “It remains clear that the appeal site does not cause any harm or encroach into the designated NL any more than currently exists.”
In their decision notice, the inspector said: “Despite its location between the council depots and a caravan site, the existing open agricultural land contributes positively to the character of the HWNL.
“A historic field boundary separates the appeal site from the commercial yard to the south, and the proposal would not read as a natural extension of this commercial yard given the existing field boundary.”
The inspector added: “Taken together, the urbanising effect of the hardstanding, building and storage would harm the rural character and appearance of the area. Although the visual impacts of the proposal would be localised, nonetheless it would neither conserve nor enhance the landscape, scenic and natural beauty of the HWNL.”
As a result, the appeal was dismissed.