Replacement care home in Crowborough granted planning permission

]On Thursday (June 15), Wealden District Council’s Planning Committee North approved outline proposals to demolish the Pinewood Manor Rest Home in Old Lane and build a new 69-bed care home in its place.

While ultimately approved, the scheme had attracted a significant number of objections from local residents, who felt the new facility would be an overdevelopment of the site and cause harm to the Ashdown Forest.

Some of these concerns were voiced by local ward member Martyn Everitt (Green), who called on the committee to defer their decision in hopes of the developer bringing forward a smaller facility.

A particular concern for residents, Cllr Everitt said, was the potential height of the building. Due to the outline nature of the application, the scale and height of the final building was not actually part of the application and would need to be signed off at a later date.

But these concerns had likely been sparked by indicative drawings provided by the applicant (KSD Group Ltd), which showed how a partly three-storey building could contain all 69 of the rooms being sought. Notably, the developer’s initial proposals had been for a 76-bed facility, which indicative drawings showed could fit within a four-storey building.

Ultimately, the committee felt the scheme could be approved as long as there were suitable conditions in place to limit the impact of the development on the Ashdown Forest. This would include a restriction prohibiting care home residents from keeping pets in an effort to prevent harm to local bird populations.