Garage must go

At a Lewes District Council planning meeting last week, members considered a retrospective bid to keep the building which had been erected at the bottom of a back garden in Brighton Road.

Newhaven Town Council had raised strong objections to the garage, which is nearly 12ft high and 27ft long, on the grounds it was too big and overshadowed the neighbouring house.

The highways authority also recommended permission be rejected on the grounds it would increase hazards for traffic in Newfield Lane, which the garage backs on to.

If the owner had applied for planning permission before it was built it would not be facing demolition, said Cllr David Fitton. 'It is excessively large. Had the application been put in the normal way they would have been made to reduce the size.'

Cllr David Neighbour added: 'Had it been put through in the proper manner the size could have been negotiated.

'The sheer size and the bulk is enough for it to be removed.'