Bohemia Village Voice

The 3 new houses for Spring Street take shape - photo Monday 14 August.

Work on the three new houses in Spring Street has been temporarily brought to a halt because of a ‘landslide’ – actually a small collapse of earth in a trench. Atlas Builders of Bexhill are erecting the three new properties. Builders working at the site explained on Monday of this week: “The heavy rain recently has caused some of the footings running alongside the drainage pipes to collapse and damage the pipes. We now have to replace these pipes including the plastic ones with new ones made of clay. Clay is being used because it lasts longer. The drains have got to be sorted out before we do anything else. The buildings should start going up next week.” Two workshops and a garage were demolished earlier this year to provide the site for the houses.

The 3 new houses for Spring Street take shape [photo: Monday 14 Aug]
Planning consent for the development was originally refused, in 2005, by Hastings Borough Council. The reasons given were: "The proposed dwellings would, by reason of their location in close proximity to much larger properties in Tower Road and Bohemia Road, and to the dwellings on the opposite side of Spring Street, have a poor outlook and would suffer from poor natural lighting and overlooking and would provide an unacceptably low standard of accommodation. Furthermore, the houses would lack adequate private amenity space and the development would result in an unacceptable loss of privacy to the occupiers of nearby properties." Policy DG11 states: "Planning permission will not be granted for dwellings intended for family use unless amenity space is provided. As a general standard, new houses will be expected to incorporate rear gardens of at least 10 metres in length."

How the Spring Street houses will look
However, a successful appeal was made (by a Mr S Toubi of Bexhill, using agents Rod Sampson Design), against this decision, and the plan was duly approved in May 2005. The Planning Inspectorate at Bristol, in the shape of David Harmston, who visited the site early in May 2005, and gave its reasons as follows: "The appeal site lies within a densely built up area, close to the centre of St Leonards. It is currently occupied by a light industrial unit and lock-up garages with an area of about 0.02 hectares. Spring Street is a cul-de-sac, and apart from the appeal site, it is predominantly residential in land use and character. Two storey terraced buildings immediately abut the street which is narrow with just enough room for two cars to pass, encroaching on the strips of footway. To the north-east of the site is the rear of the high buildings in Bohemia Road – a main commercial thoroughfare. Because of the rise in the ground away from the appeal site to the north, the close proximity of the adjacent buildings in Bohemia Road is a very dominant feature in terms of their impact on the appeal site, and many of the other dwellings in Spring Street. The Council raises no objections to the design of the houses or their appearance on the street scene. The absence of any parking provision is not objected to. The nub of the Council’s objections concerns the outlook from the dwellings, the possibility of overlooking and the provision of adequate, private amenity space. The proposed dwellings closely echo the form and style of the nearby houses in Spring Street. The amount of amenity area to be provided at the rear, whilst small, is comparable in size to many of the nearby dwellings. Similarly, the criticisms made concerning overlooking, privacy and natural lighting are all factors that arise from the size and location of the site within a densely developed area where small units of this type are commonplace. The dwellings would be available as small units and it is largely for the future occupiers to decide whether the size and standard of the accommodation meets their requirements. The development would make a positive, beneficial use of the site and would lead to the loss of a use which has the potential to harm the living conditions of the nearby residents, by traffic generation and parking alone.”  The Planning Inspectorate, Bristol. Site visit made 4 May 2005.

How the Spring Street houses will look