Eco-friendly Passivhaus is approved for Hastings garages site
A plan to build a house in place of a garage block in Hastings has been approved by councillors.
On October 21, Hastings Borough Council’s Planning Committee unanimously approved proposals to build a three-storey, three-bedroom home in Nelson Road.
The committee heard from Laurence Temple, the lead petitioner representing a group of local residents who had objected to the plan.
Mr Temple said: “Our petition is not a case of not in my backyard, it is a unified response to an inappropriate overdevelopment that directly violates Hastings Borough Council’s own planning policies.”
He added: “This application is a textbook example of cramming an inappropriate, unaffordable development onto an entirely unsuitable piece of land.”
Mr Temple argued the committee should refuse the application on four grounds: its impact on the character of the area; invasion of privacy through overlooking; loss of a “green space”; and parking pressures during and after construction.
Council planning officers concluded the scheme “would not result in unacceptable impacts upon neighbouring amenity, land stability, highway safety, drainage, ecology or the character and appearance of the area.”
They said the site is considered to be brownfield land and would be in a sustainable location.
The committee also heard from Michael Cooper, the applicant, who said the home was intended to be a Passivhaus home— meaning it would be built to high energy-efficiency standards.
Officers said this would be a voluntary element of the scheme, so could not be guaranteed.
Mr Cooper said: “It is for us. We are not a commercial developer, it will be a home to live in.”
The committee agreed to approve the scheme in line with a recommendation from officers.