New plans for Lancing eyesore site approved

Last year, the council gave permission for the house, in Old Shoreham Road, to be demolished and replaced with a five-bedroom home, plus two more to the rear of its neighbour.

A tweaked application was put before a meeting of the planning committee on Monday (May 11), asking permission to replace the agreed five-bedroom home with two semi-detached four-bedroom homes.

While the application was ultimately approved, there were some concerns about the drainage scheme submitted with the plans, which had been described as ‘flawed’ by some objectors.

David Balfe (Lab, Eastbrook, Southwick & Fishersgate) said: “It’s well known that there is an awful lot of surface water problems in this area, and the drainage doesn’t seem to have been sorted out.”

Members agreed that a report on the drainage issues would be brought back to the committee at a later date.

There were also questions about how long it would be before the building could be demolished, with committee members keen to see it gone.

Andy McGregor (Con, Widewater, Lancing) said the site had been ‘an eyesore in Lancing for at least 25 years’ and asked if anything could be done to speed up the process.

He was told the ‘quickest and best’ way would be to grant planning permission – though other options were available.

A report to the meeting said: “The appearance of the site continues to detract from the character of the area, so much so that the council could be justified in taking enforcement action to require demolition of the existing property to improve the appearance of the site.”

It was agreed that conditions placed on the application would be amended so that the demolition could start at once.

The rest of the earlier permission – including closing the existing site access from the A27 roundabout and creating a new entrance via the Old Shoreham access road – will stay the same.

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