HS/DM/22/00835
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Notification for prior approval for demolition of redundant church building
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Mission Church, 11 Chambers Road, St Leonards-on-sea, TN38 9HY
- Total Consulted: 0
- Comments Received: 5
- Objections: 5
- Supporting: 0
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Carole Sanderson
Comment submitted date: Thu 10 Nov 2022
%comment removed% I am vehemently against the demolition of St Anne's Mission Church. It is not a redundant church as stated in the planning permission description and has been used successfully by its owners as a busy gym and kick boxing venue since it was purchased. I know this as %comment redacted% this beautiful example of architecture.
Demolishing the church will have a detrimental impact on a very close-knit neighbourhood and community who all consider St Anne's church a big part of us and who we are.
It will impact the environment, economy and the way our neighbourhood will be subsequently viewed.
I am aware there is a great need for more affordable housing but not at the detriment of such a beautiful, historical building and our neighbourhood.
There is no need to knock it down when it could be used for what it is already being used for or as a community centre for the young and vunerable. It was successfully used as a support hub for many year's before it was sold.
It could be turned into flats without destroying the structure and beauty of the building, therefore causing less pollution and CO2 emissions. It could also be used as a venue to host weddings and special occasion parties due to how beautiful its setting is.
I fear the present owners bought St Anne's church with %comment removed% and not with the knowledge of how much St Anne's Church meant to us all Historically as a close-knit community, and they are not interested in how we feel about being robbed of what we consider to be the beating heart of Chambers Road. There is not one resident in Chambers Road that wants the church to be flattened. Not one. They are not going to provide affordable housing to those who are really in need of it. What ever gets built on the land will be sold straight on to people with money to buy homes at a great cost.
On that note I please request that you refuse planning permission to demolish St Anne's Church.
You have a moral obligation to protect churches and buildings of historical interest. We are losing too much of our history when in fact we need to preserve them and continue to bask in their splendour.
Lynne Okines
Comment submitted date: Sun 06 Nov 2022
Please see documents tab
Historic Buildings & Places
Comment submitted date: Fri 04 Nov 2022
Not Available
Twentieth Century Society
Comment submitted date: Wed 02 Nov 2022
Please see documents tab.
Chris Hurrell
Comment submitted date: Fri 28 Oct 2022
I wish to lodge an objection against this application. It appears that public objections and consultations with the Conservation Officer and other bodies have been blocked.
A recent application HS/FA/22/00028 for demolition of the church and construction attracted 21 public objections to demolition and was refused by our planning committee. It is unacceptable that the demolition of the building now excludes the planning committee, the public and consultees from the planning process. It appears that the current application seeks to undermine the previous refusal by procedural manoeuvring.
Application HS/FA/22/00028 was refused. Two of the four refusal reasons related to the demolition of the building:
3. Insufficient information has been supplied to justify the loss of the community asset....
4. The proposed demolition of the church building to facilitate the development of 5 new houses would result in the total loss of a building of local architectural and communal significance, which has been identified as an undesignated heritage asset. This loss of the heritage asset has not been clearly and convincingly justified....
These refusal reasons still apply and the current application does not provide any new information to justify the loss of the community asset.
The current application should be refused on the same grounds.
Application HS/FA/22/00028 sought consultation from the Conservation Officer and other bodies. The current application does not consult at all. The Conservation officer's objection on the grounds of substantial harm remains relevant to this application for demolition.
Other objections to the demolition included the Twentieth Century Society:
" the Society considers St Anne's to be of heritage significance and believes it should be identified as an NDHA and added to Hastings Borough Council's Local List of Heritage Assets. It is a considered, well-built Arts and Crafts style building by a noted architect's practice and clearly makes a positive contribution to the character and distinctiveness of the local area. In the Society's view, the fact that 'it is no longer required by the religious community' does not justify its demolition. We take the view that the existing building could be adapted and repurposed. We have seen many cases where small churches have been successfully converted for residential and other community uses and maintain that this would also be possible here. Demolition would result in the loss of a building of local heritage interest and should be avoided. For these reasons, the Society objects to the current application and urges the local authority to refuse planning permission. "
Please open up the application to proper consultation and public comment to allow full open and transparent decision making to take place.