Florence House, Southdown Road, SEAFORD, BN25 4JS

for the erection of a care home (within Use Class C2), with associated works including access, parking and landscaping

Authority: Lewes District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: community-institutional · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Jolly J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, including the Southdowns National Park (SDNP).

What decided it

The substantial and demonstrable harm to the character and appearance of the area, including the SDNP setting, was not outweighed by the benefits of the scheme even under the tilted balance.

the substantial and demonstrable harm to the character and appearance of the area was not outweighed by the economic, social or environmental benefits of the scheme, even with the tilted balance engaged

Framework references: 11, 14, 63, 182

Plan policies cited: Policy CP10, Policy DM25, Policy DM27, Policy SEA1, Policy SEA2, Policy SEA14, Policy SEA16, Spatial Policy 2, Policy CP2 (2)

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.