Chantry development hangs in balance

Developers Thurleigh Homes Ltd. appealed against Rother planning committee's refusal in February to reject its proposal to demolish homes in Chantry Avenue which have 50-metre rear gardens.

The company negotiated options to buy the homes in a move which set neighbour against neighbour in the previously quiet residential road.

The row thrust Chantry Avenue into the national press when objectors on the low-lying south side of the road set up protest group because they feared being overlooked if their neighbours on the hillside opposite them sold out to Thurleigh.

They say a scheme at Chantry Avenue could set a precedent for "brownfield" redevelopment in other leafy areas of the town.

At one point, objectors' protest banners stood at the gates of almost all the south-side properties.

More than 40 members of the public were at St Peter's Community Centre at 10am on Tuesday for the opening day of what was expected to be a full two-day appeal.

In the event, government inspector Bob Marshall was unlucky not to complete his business by 5.30pm, when the hall was needed for another booking.

It meant that the hearing had to adjourn to the Town Hall for closing statements by both sides on Wednesday.

Typically, appeal decisions at present come about two months after the hearing, meaning that appellants and objectors alike will have to bite their nails until well into the New Year before hearing the verdict.