New unit on edge of Bexhill at Pebsham Rural Business Centre allowed on appeal by planning inspector

In a decision notice published on Thursday (March 30), a planning inspector has approved plans to erect a new industrial building at Pebsham Rural Business Centre, overturning a refusal by Rother District Council.

The original application, itself a resubmission of another previously-refused scheme, had been refused by council planning officers in July last year, due to concerns about its location within the ‘strategic gap’ between Bexhilll and Hastings.

In coming to this decision Rother planning officers had said the refusal had been made ‘on balance’, weighing the erosion of the strategic gap against the economic benefits of a new business unit.

However, the inspector (and the applicant) came to a different conclusion, considering the benefits of the development would outweigh its downsides.

In their decision notice, the planning inspector wrote: “I consider the harm that would be caused to the objectives of the strategic gap, important though they are in maintaining a clear separation between the settlements of Bexhill and Hastings/St Leonards, would be relatively modest because of the degree of containment that would exist.

“Weighed against that harm would be the benefit of enabling economic and employment growth. That would be of immediate advantage in this case because it would enable the growth of an existing business on the site.

“Giving significant weight to the economic advantages and only modest weight to the strategic gap disadvantages, in this case I consider the benefits of the proposal outweigh the harm that would be caused.”