Looking through the various recent planning applications on Rother District Council's website www.rother.gov.uk I was interested to read about application ref RR/2021/2947/P which relates to the former putting green site owned by Rother District Council on Old Lydd Road in Camber.
Looking through the detailed history of the application, the current proposal is to turn what is now a pay and display car park into a development of 10 houses, 4 of which are to be affordable. The application has met with a lot of opposition from local residents for a variety of reasons but predominantly because in their opinion, they don't want to lose the car park capable of parking up to 70 vehicles, which is felt to be a greater asset than a development of 10 houses.
We all know how congested Camber gets during the summer months. It's a fantastic place to visit with some of the best beaches in the country, so you can’t blame visitors for wanting to come there, but they need facilities and they need to park safely without inconveniencing or exasperating local residents. Understandably, losing a carpark with this capacity won't help the parking problem.
On the flipside, there is a need for affordable housing in the local area and if the application is approved, it is subject to a legally binding section 106 agreement which secures the element of affordable housing. Of the six remaining units (which I have assumed will be sold on the open market when completed) the price they are likely to be, whether they are affordable for people locally or if they will end up being sold to investors as buy to let prospects or holiday/second homes, only time will tell.
The four one-bedroom affordable homes to be built “must be discounted by a minimum of 30% against the market value” to qualify as affordable but, will locals be able to afford the affordable housing even with this discount?
The site, once developed will generate a CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) of approximately £104,215 for Rother District Council and a New Homes bonus of approximately £72,440. The site is owned by Rother District Council.
The Community Infrastructure Levy allows local authorities in England and Wales to raise funds from developers undertaking new building projects in their area to fund a wide range of infrastructure that is needed to support new development. This includes transport schemes, schools, flood defences, hospitals and other health and social care facilities, parks, green spaces, leisure centres and other community and cultural facilities. As almost all development has some impact on the need for infrastructure, services and amenities, this tariff-based approach is seen as an effective, quicker and fairer framework to fund new infrastructure to support growth.
In 1983 this site was granted planning approval for 9, two-storey dwellings (RR/83/1886) then in 2003, planning was granted for a new café, restaurant and retail centre (RR/2003/42/P) and in 2009 permission was granted for the temporary use as a carpark (RR/2009/48/P) so the site is no stranger to planning applications.
It seems likely that the most recent application will be approved, subject to the section 106 agreement and a host of accompanying conditions. The recommendation has now been resolved to grant planning permission under delegated powers and the final decision will be published soon.
It was interesting to read one of the comments published by the parish council stating their concerns about the current drainage problems in the area and that the exiting system is not fit for purpose. In their opinion, the addition of any additional properties to the public sewer is likely to exacerbate the situation unless the existing drainage infrastructure is upgraded.
Their concerns may well be very valid, as when I drove past the site and turned round in the central car park at the end of Old Lydd Road I couldn’t believe the amount of surface water which had settled on the carpark (see photo above) rendering about 30% of it unusable at the moment. What the reason is for the small lake in the carpark I know not - blocked drains (sand?), poor maintenance or just excessive rainfall, but whatever the reason there is currently an issue. When the warmer weather finally arrives this problem should ease, hopefully.
It does make you question the gains and losses as a result of this development going ahead once planning permission has been granted, which now seems inevitable.
