Plans to extend terrace of houses in Hailsham approved at appeal

In a decision notice published last week, a planning inspector has allowed an appeal connected with proposals to add two houses to an existing terrace of homes in Woodpecker Drive — a site close to the road’s junction with Summerfields Avenue.

The proposals, from developer Red Top Investments Limited, had been refused planning permission by Wealden District Council in January last year.

In a decision notice published at the time, a Wealden planning spokesman said: “The two proposed dwellings — by reason of their location forward of the established building line on a prominent corner plot — would result in a form of development that would be out of keeping with the character and appearance of the residential area and would erode the open plan and spacious character of the locality.

“Further, inadequate parking provision has been provided such that the development would increase the pressure on highway parking. These matters significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of adding two dwellings to the council’s housing land supply.”

The planning inspector confirmed that this harm would occur, but concluded that the benefits of the development would outweigh these drawbacks. The inspector noted how planning permission has already been granted to extend the terrace by a single dwelling.

In their decision notice, the inspector said: “The site is in an accessible location with good access to local services and public transport so future occupiers could access day-to-day facilities without relying unduly on the private vehicle.

“There would be a net benefit to the overall housing stock of one private dwelling as the 2024 permission would separately provide one dwelling without the appeal proposal.

“Development could take place quickly. There would be short term economic benefits during the construction stage and additional occupants would be likely to stimulate consumer spending, boost local labour supply and help to support local services.

“These are all significant public benefits in favour of the proposal even though somewhat limited by the small scale of the development.”

They added: “Taking the above together I conclude that the adverse effects of the proposal would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits having particular regard to the key policies of the [National Planning Policy] Framework of directing development to sustainable locations and making effective use of land.”