Redevelopment of former Eastbourne nursing home sites approved at third attempt

On Tuesday (April 19), Eastbourne Borough Council’s planning committee considered a pair of applications to build ten houses in place of the former Summerdown and Pentlow nursing homes in Summerdown Road

The applications came after previous proposals — to build a total of 24 flats and houses on the site — were officially refused by the planning committee last month on the grounds this would have been an overdevelopment of the sites. 

While officers had said the revised proposals would overcome these issues, the applications had seen resistance from a number of local residents.

Bertie Strange, a spokesman for these residents, told the committee that the number of houses should be reduced further to minimise the impact on surrounding properties.

He said: “In simple terms, we would propose decreasing the backline by one house on each site and building instead lower two-storey houses with larger footprints, providing four to five bedrooms and integral garages. 

“This would solve most problems of density and overbearing. By moving away from the [site] boundaries, the mature corner trees could be retained and car access issues could be solved for the better. 

“Overall greater privacy would be provided and with less housing there would be enhanced desirability for all properties and a less regimented feel to the layout more commensurate with the area’s character.”

Similar arguments were made by ward councillor Jonathan Dow (Lib Dem), who highlighted the environmental impact of removing mature trees from the site.

These concerns were shared by several committee members, some of whom argued the scheme should be deferred to allow further revisions to be made. 

The majority of committee members felt differently, however, arguing that the scheme was both acceptable and had already undergone significant revisions since the original scheme (to build a new nursing home on the site) was first proposed. 

Committee chairman Jim Murray (Lib Dem) said: “I understand your reasoning behind a deferral, but we also need to have confidence in officers and the developers because they have worked so hard for the last couple of years to get where we are here with as many compromises as we have had.” 

The committee also heard that officers had advised the applicant that fewer houses would not make efficient use of the site (and would go against national planning rules as a result). 

While the proposals had been broadly recommended for approval, officers had raised concerns about the access proposed to one of the houses.

As a result, the committee had been asked to allow officers to go back to the applicants and work out a suitable solution, which could then be approved under delegated powers. This was agreed by the committee. 

For further details on the proposals see applications 220025 and 220045 on the Eastbourne Borough Council website.