Four-storey Newhaven apartment building proposed

In an application submitted to Lewes District Council, a developer is seeking permission to build a four-storey building on an empty plot at the junction of South Way and Church Hill, which would contain 13 apartments and office space.

The site was formerly occupied by the Conservative Club, but has remained levelled and vacant since that building was destroyed in a fire in June, 2010.

In a design and access statement, a spokesman for the applicant said: “The proposed development will offer a considerable enhancement to this redundant, previously-developed and prominent site, through the attention to design and respect for the amenity of neighbouring residents. 

“It will also introduce much needed high quality housing and office space in a sustainable location close to the centre of Newhaven. 

“This approach is in line with the Government’s ambitions to significantly boost the supply of homes and give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements for homes.

“There are no identifiable adverse impacts that significantly and demonstrably

outweigh the benefits of the development and therefore the planning application should be approved as this is a sustainable form of development that accords with relevant planning policy.”

According to the developer’s plans, the building would stand at four-storeys-tall and contain a total of 13 self-contained apartments; made up of a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats. It would also include an office space – around 47 sqm – on the ground floor of the building.

The developer argues this building will “sit comfortably” alongside existing development in the area and says the design was drawn up following pre-application advice from council planners.

The developer also proposes the building would be ‘car-free’ and as such would not include any parking on site. It would, however, have a large bicycle storage area, for up to 16 bicycles. 

Access will be provided to the rear of the building off both South Way and Church Hill.

For further information on the proposals see application reference  LW/20/0360 on the Lewes District Council planning website.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.