Planning appeal decision
Beulah Baptist Church , Clifford Road, Bexhill on Sea, TN40 1QA
Planning appeal 3284583 at Beulah Baptist Church , Clifford Road, Bexhill on Sea, TN40 1QA (Rother District Council) was dismissed on 26 July 2022 by Inspector Cryan M, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: 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.
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
- Postcode
- TN40 1QA
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
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy EN2Policy BX1Policy EN3
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 189Paragraph 197Paragraph 203Paragraph 130Paragraph 134
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.
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