M&S's expanding empire at Ravenside Retail Park (photo by Zelly Restorick).
Planning puzzlement
HOT writer, Zelly Restorick, is no stranger to the many development and planning projects which reshape the town and the area in which we live. However, acquaintance with the projects has not brought enlightenment about how the system works, rather frustration over the apparent untouchability of planners’ decisions. Is she the only one left puzzled, she wonders?
A few days ago, the Gateway Road (one of the proposed link roads to the Bexhill Hastings Link Road) was on the planning department’s agenda at Bexhill Town Hall and was passed through. I attended the meeting, frustratingly too late for the Gateway discussion, but was told by one of the people in the public audience section of the room that the road had been passed, the only change being its width.
“To allow buses”, they said. “That’s interesting”, I replied, “because as far as I know from the meeting I attended – with John Shaw, CEO of Sea Change Sussex who are heading the project and Derrick Coffey from The Campaign for Better Transport – there aren’t any plans for buses.” Which is strange in itself, in an area low on car ownership, on a project where you want to encourage local employment – and providing alternative transportation to the car is meant to be a national priority agenda.
Apologies to all those I spoke to in the Gateway Road area about the importance of completing and submitting your comments and objections to the council planners. You said to me, “There’s no point”, “It’s a done deal”, “The powers that be have already decided…”, to which I replied with smiling idealistic naivety, “No, it’s important, your voice counts”. It would appear it doesn’t. The 642 objections were duly logged in the agenda notes, as were the 86 messages of support, along with the following statement:
6.4 : Given the Council’s commitment to the development of North East Bexhill, the principle of the road is not a matter for consideration by this Planning Committee.
It was only the design of the road that was under consideration.
Other developments?
Have you seen the Marks and Spencer building currently under construction at Ravenside Retail Park? A building that towers over all the other businesses on site, presumably opening up the opportunity for all neighbouring businesses to add another storey to their empires.
Speckled Wood, one of the few remaining areas of greenery in Ore, is under threat from developers, as is precious Robsack Meadow.
The building of 19 flats and the knocking down of two Georgian buildings was written about by Bernard McGinley in HOT last week, as have been the development of the old convent site and the old HCAT college buildings.
One human’s area of peace and tranquility or architectural beauty is another’s development site and demolition target.
I have no idea how the planning system works. I know acres of rules, laws and guidelines exist, but how it works behind the scenes, I haven’t a clue. I’m told by nearly everyone I speak to that, “It all comes down to money”. “Does it?”, I ponder, attempting to nudge my brain beyond the prejudices, stereotypes and statements that I have heard since I first became aware of such a thing as The Planning Process.
A BBC production due to be shown in early September, “Plan It, Build It”, explores the planning process and includes Hastings Borough Council as one of the local authorities taking part. Might this show some insights?
Viewer warning : The TV Machine has a message to propagate. May I respectfully suggest that you watch and listen carefully from the perspective of ‘what are they selling and advertising to me today, partially funded by my TV license contribution?’. Beware indoctrination!
What do you think? Any comments on the planning process and your own personal experiences?
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6 Comments
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Just a thought… if you base your opinion on the facts, rather than on what you intuitively feel is going on, you might find that you focus on the real issues rather than blaming immigration for all of our problems.
Comment by Deletism — Thursday, Sep 5, 2013 @ 17:15
Actually there were just over 98,000 empty homes in the South East last year. There were 920,000 empty homes across the UK. The “housing crisis” is not caused by lack of places to live or because of immigration, it’s caused by the lack of affordable housing. This is partly due to prices being kept artificially high by the Government because it suits their economic position (and who are absolutely NOT “putting pressure on local government to build houses”, that is the opposite of their policy). I don’t know a single person that has moved here from London because of “immigrants” – 100% of them moved here because of the high cost of housing in London.
Comment by Deletism — Thursday, Sep 5, 2013 @ 16:27
There ARE empty properties in the area (though nowhere near as many as you suggest) because landlords/ladies are not renting them out or selling them on – probably, as you say, because there’s not much profit in it, but 5 million extra people in England (and particularly in London & SE England) through net migration in the last 20 years do not live in Cloud-Cuckoo Land. Many immigrants settle in London, displacing people who are moving out to places like Hastings. How many people do you know who have moved down here from London in the last 20 years? Quite a few, I’d bet. Anyway, I think a major reason why we’ve got a housing crisis IS due to net migration levels and why central government is trying to ease planning regulations and putting pressure on local government to build houses. NE Bexhill is a classic example.
Comment by DAR — Thursday, Sep 5, 2013 @ 13:04
@DAR – That’s such a crock. This is absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with immigration. The South Coast is full of empty properties – rents (and house prices) in Hastings and St Leonards are rock bottom, which would ceratinly not be the case if there was a high demand caused by population pressure. There is plenty of accomodation and hardly any jobs. There are also dozens of empty factory, shop and warehouse units.
None of these planning decisions have got the slightest thing to do with immigration, but they have got a lot to do with attracting investment to our region.
Comment by Deletism — Sunday, Sep 1, 2013 @ 16:41
Many planning decisions in Hastings are what the local political & business establishment wants. The wishes of residents are basically ignored if they do not chime with the aforesaid establishment’s view. Construction is an easy, lazy way of creating jobs – and never mind the environment – and this suits the short-termism that is rife today. For example, the whole BHLR project is steeped in this mindset. However, we have to ask ourselves why there is this rush to concrete over the local countryside. I’ve already mentioned vested interests, “jobs” and “short-termism”. But the MAJOR underlying reason is net migration (170,000 last year – and rising again. Source:ONS). I don’t suppose this will be a popular view amongst writers and readers of “HOT”, but that’s the reality, like it or not. It is DEMAND that is the problem, not SUPPLY. If there weren’t so many people landing on our shores, then we wouldn’t need to gobble up so much green space – or inappropriate brown space – for “development. “Simples”. And we wouldn’t have so many cavalier planning decisions in Hastings and its environs.
Comment by DAR — Friday, Aug 30, 2013 @ 10:38
Interesting reading especially the gate way road decision and the comments about public opinion about it being a ‘done deal’, some how i can’t help thinking the council has a hidden agenda. We have all read about the link road justification in open up new development land for extra houses and businesses with increased jobs and the reduction in traffic on the coast road, but i would not be surprised when you look at the expanding Ravenside development for the businesses located on Brett Drive to be offered incentives to move into the new business park to open up further retail land. This is however just me being cynical as surely this would further add to the volume of traffic and congestion – maybe M&S are just the first and last of these new buildings?
Comment by stewart ray — Wednesday, Aug 28, 2013 @ 22:31