Listed buildings on the Archery Ground.

New Archery Ground proposals to be aired

Gladedale is preparing new plans for the development of the Archery Ground site in St Leonards. In the next few days there will be an exhibition of its proposals and a chance for stakeholders to give their responses. Nick Terdre reports.

Following the failure of its original scheme to secure planning consent, Gladedale, together with its partner Laing, has appointed a new architect. This is Marcus Beale, which acknowledges on its website that it is designing a residential development at Archery Road.

The Wimbledon-based firm has a track record of conservation projects and restoring historic buildings. One of the key reasons for the rejection of Gladedale’s original scheme was their failure to meet the standards required of a development in a conservation area.

“We’re hopeful the architect’s new proposals will be a significant improvement on the original failed scheme,” Lee Wilson of Stag –Save the Archery Ground – told HOT.

Gladedale will be holding a public exhibition of its new proposals – at present a work in progress – at the Assembly Rooms in St Leonards this Friday and Saturday. Members of the project team will be at hand to answer questions.

Next Monday the council have arranged a pre-application forum. This is essentially an opportunity for a developer of a significant development to present its proposals to a wider audience prior to submitting a planning application. It also gives the council the opportunity to hold a structured discussion about it, according to the planing department.

The discussion, however, is limited to ‘key stakeholders’, which means that the public can attend the meeting but not speak. Views will be proffered by representatives of Sussex Police, Stag, Burtons’ St Leonards Society, Mount Residents Association, Hastings Badger Protection Society, West Marina Gardens Residents Association, Hastings and St Leonards Seniors’ Forum and Hastings and Rother Disability Forum.

Gladedale is expected to submit its new proposals in time to have them considered by the planning committee this summer, opening the way, if consent is given, to starting work on the Archery Ground by early next year.

Public exhibition of Gladedale’s new proposals:

Assembly Rooms, East Ascent, St Leonards-on-Sea.

Friday 15 March, 4-7pm, Saturday 16 March, 10am-1pm.

Pre-Application Forum:

Hastings Town Hall, Monday 18 March, 6pm.

See also Gladedale appeal dismissed.

Also in: Home Ground