Decision due on converting former Eastbourne care home into HMO and flats

On Monday (June 12), Eastbourne Borough Council’s planning committee is set to again consider proposals to create an 11-bedroom House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) at 13 Gorringe Road — a building which had formed part of a care home known as The Shires.

The retrospective application was last considered by the committee in April, but a decision was deferred as councillors hoped the scheme could be ‘improved’ with the addition of more communal space.

This meeting in April also saw councillors approve plans to convert the other half of the former care home (at 12 Gorringe Road) into three three-bedroom apartments.

Despite the deferral, the scheme going before the committee is the same as the one previously considered. According to planning papers, the developers had looked into using an existing room as additional communal space, but judged it was not ‘viable’ to do so.

Officers are still recommending the application be approved, however, having also recommended approval at the previous meeting. In doing so, officers note how the HMO rooms would be ‘substantial’, many being large enough to accommodate both sleeping and lounge spaces as well as en-suite washing facilities.

This view is not shared by residents, who have raised concerns about the quality of the building and having such a density of housing in the area.

Notably, the schemes already considered by the committee had been submitted concurrently with a third proposal for the same site. That scheme is seeking permission to convert both parts of the former care home into HMOs.