Care home near Stonepound Crossroads in Hassocks refused

The application, to demolish a house in Brighton Road called Byanda and replace it with the three-storey home, was given the thumbs-down during a meeting of the planning committee on Thursday (October 20).

While officers recommended approval, most of the committee felt the care home – which would be managed by Barchester Healthcare – would be simply too big.

Officers said: “Whilst the loss of habitat should be afforded weight, on balance, the public benefits arising from the scheme (a new care home facility for which there is an identified need and employment opportunities) should be afforded significant weight and these are considered to outweigh the ecological harm identified.”

Gary Marsh (Con, Ardingly & Balcombe) recognised there was a need for care homes in the area and said the design of this one was ‘not unpleasant’.

But he added: “The sheer, size, the sheer bulk makes it unacceptable to be a care home on this site.

“It dominates the whole site.”

Those concerns were shared by the parish council, which objected to the plans, saying the building would be ‘too large for the site and thus represents significant over-development’.

The council also received 86 letters of objection.

This was not the first application the council has received to redevelop the site.

In 2015, plans for four detached homes were approved but nothing ever went ahead.

In 2016, permission was again given for four detached homes and is still in place.

This latest application from Frontier Estates (HASS) Ltd had originally been for a 66-bedroom building with a larger footprint but this was reduced after discussions with officers.

Other concerns raised during the meeting centred around car parking, how surface water would be drained from the site and who owns the access.

Objecting to the plans, a neighbour told the meeting that they owned the access and would not give permission for any changes to be made.

Officers, though, said Frontier Estates did have access rights

The application was refused by five votes to two with three abstentions on the grounds that it would over-dominate the site and would have a harmful effect on neighbouring properties.

To view the application, log on to pa.midsussex.gov.uk and search for DM/21/1653.