Plans to redevelop Bexhill bowls club return

Gullivers bowling club, Bexhill. ENGSUS00120130131102418

Churchill Retirement Living first submitted its plans in 2014 for the building of 39 private sheltered apartments for the elderly with associated communal facilities, access, car parking and landscaping at Gullivers Bowls Club in Knole Road.

The council granted planning permission in November 2015 but this was quashed by the Court of Appeal in London in August 2016 following a campaign by Bexhill resident Anne-Marie Loader.

Developers have now asked the council for a ‘redetermination’ of the application.

The scheme includes demolition and replacement of the outdoor bowls green, indoor rink, club facilities and car park.

Some residents in the area have voiced objections to the plans.

Cantelupe Community Association has written to council planners with its concerns.

The association said there would be ‘extreme loss of privacy and overlooking issues for the many residents of flats in Knole Road’.

It also said the area already suffers from parking problems, adding that this has worsened in recent years.

The association said: “The situation is now so bad that cars are seen idling in the road waiting for a space to become clear. This will only increase, causing obstruction hazards and major safety issues.”

Developers said when they first submitted their plans that there was a need for sheltered housing for the elderly in the Rother district, citing that East Sussex had the highest proportion of elderly residents of any county in England.

The application will be discussed by the council at a later date.

In other news:

Bexhill traders’ frustration over Colonnade works.

Bexhill hotel owner says illegal parking harming his business.