Unusual new build Hastings home refused by planning inspector

In a decision notice published on Thursday (November 10), an appeal connected to a ‘permission in principle’ application to build a two-bedroom house in Hawthorn Lane, Ore, was dismissed.

Its proposed design was unusual, in that it would have been built with an archway over the entrance to an existing car park and set in front of houses already on the road. It would also be split over three nearby but separate parcels of land, containing the house, car parking spaces and a private garden respectively.

This design was considered to be ‘poor’ by Hastings Borough Council planning officers, who refused the scheme in November last year saying it would both have “a significant harmful impact on the character and appearance of the area” and “provide unacceptable living conditions” for future residents.

The developer disputed this in their appeal, arguing that their design was in-keeping with the surrounding area.

This argument failed to win favour with the planning inspector, however, who was concerned that the distance between the house and its garden — some 45 metres away — would create “oppressive” living conditions for residents.

The inspector’s decision report said: “Taken together, and in the absence of detailed evidence to the contrary, these concerns lead me to conclude that the disconnected nature of the parcels, as well as their characteristics and distance from each other, dictates that the appeal site is incapable of supporting the component parts required of a single residential dwelling.

“As such, the site is unsuitable for the amount of development proposed.”