Beulah Baptist Church , Clifford Road, Bexhill on sea, TN40 1QA

Demolition of existing sanctuary and Buckhurst Room hall and construction of a new church and community centre with associated external works. Retention of the Clifford Hall and new cladding and window configuration to the Beulah Centre elevation on Clifford Road”

Authority: Rother District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: community-institutional · Other minor developments
Inspector: Cryan M

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the development on the architectural and historical significance of non-designated heritage assets, including whether harm to or loss of heritage assets would be outweighed by the benefits of the scheme
The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The unsympathetic, bulky and incoherent design of the Clifford Road frontage causing unacceptable harm to the character and appearance of the area.

the benefits of enhanced community facilities outweighed the substantial harm from loss of the non-designated heritage asset, but this was insufficient to offset the separate harm to character and appearance, so the proposal conflicted with the development plan as a whole

Framework references: 189, 197, 203, 130, 134

Plan policies cited: Policy EN2, Policy BX1, Policy EN3

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.