Eastbourne nursing home plans refused for a second time

On Tuesday (February 25), Eastbourne Borough Council’s planning committee considered an application to demolish Pentlow nursing home in Summerdown Road and build a new 62-bed care facility in its place.

The plans came after a similar proposal – an outline application for a 64-bed nursing home – was refused by the committee in July last year, due to concerns over the size of the potential building needed.

While smaller in scale than the previous proposals, several committee members felt the scheme was still too large for the site. 

Among those to raise concerns was Jane Lamb (Con, Meads) she said: “Coming back to this item having refused it last time, I am again struck with the bulkiness and dominance of the building in that particular site and that particular road.

“When you look at the overall ground floor plan you see the bulk of the building on a smallish site compared with the residential buildings around it and it does look disproportionate and institutional. 

“Despite the changes – and I appreciate a great deal of effort has gone into making it more acceptable – it is cramped on the site. It is a small site. 

“It is a very dominant site in that road and it is an access road into town. Because of that I feel very concerned about it.”

Concerns were also raised by Peter Diplock (Lib Dem, Old Town), who said: “Officers said the proposed maximum ridge line would only be 1.6m higher than that of 42 Summerdown Road.

“That may not sound like much, but without being flippant my granny [is that tall] and I would notice the difference if someone of my granny’s stature was on top of a building on Summerdown Road.

“It would make a difference noticeably to me walking down the street. I would recognise the difference.”

Cllr Diplock also said he considered the proposal to be “an overdevelopment” of the site and would not be able to support the proposals.

The committee’s views were split, however, with other committee members arguing that the facility was much-needed in the town. 

Committee chairman Jim Murrary said: “This has been before us a vast number of times, initially at outline and the outline drawings were pretty awful.

“We’ve asked the architects to go away and redesign. Initially they just came back with another outline plan and this time they’ve come back with proper drawings for us. To be honest they’ve done a pretty good job, in my opinion. 

“Is it an overdevelopment? It really is a 50/50 and two years ago I would have certainly said it was. We are being more and more confined in Eastbourne in how much space we have and where we can put these buildings. 

“With the ability to put this building in the heart of the community, [the decision] is really, really difficult. That is where they need to be, because we need to be able to give access to the people who live in the area.

“It is a really, really difficult one. It comes down to a 50/50 all the way through, but I am minded to move for approval.”

Despite Cllr Murrary’s support, the motion to approve was defeated in a close vote of three to four. 

The committee then agreed to refuse the scheme on the grounds it would cause visual harm and be oppressive to neighbouring properties. The decision was met with applause from the public gallery. 

The proposed facility had been intended to replace both Pentlow and Summerdown nursing homes, which are both owned by Canford Healthcare Ltd and provide 59 beds between them.

It would have included 62 bedrooms in a U-shaped three-and-a-half storey building, which would also include staff and other care facilities. It also includes 23 on-site parking spaces, with access off of Summerdown Road.

Developer’s designs showed that all residential rooms would be located on the ground, first and second floor. The third floor, which would be contained entirely within the roof space, would be used for staff and service facilities.

For further details see application reference 190794 on the Eastbourne Borough Council planning website.