Homes plan for business site

But early indications are that Wealden planners would prefer to see four and five-bedroom properties if the commercial use is changed.

Mr Steven Neilly, a director of Neilly-Smith Architecture, outlined the company's proposals at a town council plans sub-committee meeting on Monday and highlighted the difference of opinion with Wealden.

He said the firm had recently completed the development of three five-bedroom houses on the former Highlands Garage site in Eastbourne Road. With hindsight they felt they could have made a more valuable contribution to Uckfield by building a larger number of smaller houses on that site.

What Uckfield lacked, he said, was three-bedroom accommodation which would release homes for the starter home market. The problem at the moment was that people in two bedroom starter homes had nowhere to move to.

They might raise 130,000 from their present property but would need 325,000 to 350,000 for a four or five bedroom house in the town.

Neilly-Smith envisaged the three-bedroom homes selling for about 200,000.

The site was originally used by Crowson Fabrics before being taken over by Friday-Ad but the property has been empty for the last 18 months. About 11,600 sq ft of the land was covered by the building and there was parking for 35 vehicles.

Mr Neilly said a previous application for nine dwellings had been turned down. In addition to the scheme for 14 three-bedroom homes, which he admitted would be a high density development, his company had also drawn up plans for seven larger properties, four with four bedrooms and three with five bedrooms. Their preference, though, was for the former.

Councillors agreed that Uckfield needed three-bedroom homes but said they could not comment on the early plans without prejudicing their right to record their views once final plans had been submitted to Wealden.

Cllr Duncan Bennett was concerned about the potential loss of industrial land which could cause a potential employment problem in the town. But, equally, people had told him they would prefer to see homes there because the area was increasingly residential.