Bognor Regis seafront flats turned down

Last year the dilapidated and empty 2-4 Waterloo Square was demolished to make way for the proposed redevelopment. The neighbouring plot, facing the seafront, is also currently empty following a serious fire at the Beach Hotel Restaurant in November 2016. Last week Arun District Council refused plans to redevelop the site and build 35 apartments and three commercial units. The original submission was for 49 flats in a seven storey block, but there were a number of concerns about the height and scale of the proposed building. The developer came back with revised plans, including a reduction in the height of the scheme, amendments to the design and splitting the building into two separate blocks. However these changes have not been enough for council officers who have refused planning permission. They felt the proposed development’s height, design and massing would have a harmful impact on the character and appearance of this ‘prominent seafront location’. Officers also raised concerns about insufficient parking, overlooking and overshadowing of some properties in Norfolk Street and a failure of the scheme to meet the council’s affordable housing requirements. The council’s conservation area advisory committee said: “The building is too large/too high, it bears no resemblance to scale of previous site buildings, will have an overbearing impact on adjacent buildings/streets, the elevation treatment is not to standard - bland/monolithic, that a modern building here should be innovative, imaginative and acknowledge the character of the seafront and surroundings.” Although there are five spaces for commercial staff, the scheme contains zero residential parking for the flats. Officers felt this shortfall versus the standards ‘is simply too great’ with the potential for increased pressure for on-street parking spaces. While they accepted the current scheme was a ‘clear improvement’ on the previous plans and those submitted at the pre-application stage, they were still not satisfied the proposed built form ‘is appropriate for this sensitive location’. Therefore they refused planning permission and turned down the scheme. A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton: In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers. Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. Stay safe, and best wishes.