On the route of the proposed North Bexhill Access Road.

Sea Change withdraws NBAR road application

A planning application for a major new road in Bexhill, the North Bexhill Access Road (NBAR), has been withdrawn by developers Sea Change Sussex after an objector pointed out flaws in the environmental data provided by the company. Sea Change had provided information about the impact of vehicle emissions on people’s homes, but had failed to provide such information relating to the impact on the ecology of the area. In particular, they had failed to consider the impact of emissions on ancient woodland, some of which will be only three metres from the proposed road. A report from the Combe Haven Defenders team.

In a letter of 8 December to Rother District Council, Sea Change director John Shaw asked that the planning application be withdrawn, in order to allow the company time to review the issue.

This is the second time that a Sea Change road application has run into difficulties with air pollution issues. Last February, Hastings Borough Council granted planning permission for Sea Change’s Queensway Gateway road. It was later quashed by the High Court after a local resident brought a legal challenge which showed that the road would breach air pollution limits. The application will be reheard by HBC on Tuesday 15 December.

Combe Haven Defenders’ spokesperson Andrea Needham, who submitted the objection which exposed the lack of information on air quality, said, ‘It is staggering that after the Queensway Gateway fiasco, Sea Change still think they can get away with pulling the wool over people’s eyes in terms of air pollution. You cannot have a road carrying over 12,000 vehicles a day through sensitive habitats and pretend that vehicle emissions will not have a serious impact on the environment.

‘Whether this omission is deliberate or simply demonstrates incompetence, Rother District Council should ensure that Sea Change provides all the necessary information before allowing this application to go ahead again. In the meantime, we encourage people to continue to make objections to this destructive and polluting project.’

Photos of the proposed route.

Combe Haven Defenders

Sea Change Sussex

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