Plans have been put forward to demolish a care home and build housing in its place. 

In a ‘permission in principle’ application to Rother District Council, the owners of the Edendale Lodge Care Home in Station Road, Crowhurst, are seeking approval to demolish their existing building and replace it with eight houses.

The site sits within the ‘strategic gap’ (an area of land intended to delineate Hastings from the surrounding towns and villages) and partly falls outside of Crowhurst’s development boundary. 

However, the applicant, Belmont Healthcare, argues the brownfield nature of the site and the need for housing in the district would outweigh these considerations. 

In a statement submitted as part of the application, a spokesman for the applicant said: “The site despite being partly within and outside the BUAB (Built Up Area Boundary) of Crowhurst, is also a sustainable location for new development, as confirmed by the council in providing their earlier pre-application response. 

“There are no adverse impacts that would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of redeveloping this sustainable, brownfield site and addressing the council’s shortfall in Housing Land Supply and the additional, social, economic and environmental benefits that would be accrued.

“In conclusion, the location of development is appropriate for new residential development.”

The statement goes on to say the existing care home has “fallen below viable standards” and points to unsuccessful attempts to sell the property as a going concern as evidence of this. The applicant also argues that there is an “oversupply” of care home beds in the area. 

While the application was only formally validated late last month, some resident concerns have already been raised about the impact of additional housing on traffic and local roads. 

For further information see application reference RR/2023/2565/PIP on the Rother District Council website.