On Wednesday (April 6), Lewes District Council’s planning committee approved an application to build a terrace of ten three- and four-bedroom houses on land at the corner of Beach Road and Beach Close. Currently the land is used as a car park for the Norton Road Business Park. While there are no buildings on this part of the site, the car park use means it is considered to be employment land in planning rules. The site has also previously been granted planning permission (as part of a wider site) for the construction of industrial buildings. As a result, the committee heard, the proposals go against local planning policies. Despite this the scheme had been recommended for approval, as planning officers felt the loss of the employment land would be outweighed by the benefits of providing affordable housing. This view was shared by the committee, which concluded that the proposals should be approved. While ultimately approved, the committee had some concerns about whether there would be sufficient parking for the scheme. In full, the site would have 11 off-street parking spaces. Concerns were also raised about the potential for flooding in the wider area, which saw an informative condition added asking applicants to look into raising the buildings to avoid potential issues. An agent for the applicant said there may be some trade-off with accessibility if this was taken forward, however. All ten houses will be classed as affordable rental homes, each with its own private garden space. For further information on the proposals see application reference LW/20/0885 on the Lewes District Council website.