Box 10 - Preferred Strategy for Bexhill

Object

Representation ID: 20445

Received: 29/01/2009

Respondent: CgMs Consulting

Box 10(b)

We request that the Ravenside Retail Park be identified as a district centre in accordance with Table 1 of Annex A of PPS6 in the Site Identification/Site Specific Allocations stage of the Rother District Council LDF.

PPS6 (para 2.53 supports the designation of new centres through the plan making process where a need for them has been established, particularly in areas of significant growth.

Land north east of Bexhill has been allocated for significant housing growth. Apart from the projected growth in both convenience and comparison goods expenditure, this will increase the capacity and available expenditure in the catchment area and increase the need for the retail facilities.

The Ravenside Centre currently provIdes for both local shopping needs as well as drawing from a wider catchment area. Bexhill town centre is restricted in terms of shopping facilities due to the predominance of small units. The Conservation Area also and the topography of the centre also act as physical constraints to further development.

As Bexhill Is not generally considered a major shopping destination or recognlsed as one In the RSS, it currently experiences considerable expenditure leakage to nelghbourlng centres such as Hastings, Eastbourne and Brighton. The Ravenslde Centre, which has a turnover in excess of the town centre, provides an opportunity to stem this loss.

The site Is a sustainable brownfiefd location, thus this designation would not result in any harm to any greenfield/greenbelt sites.

The Ravenside Centre includes a range of shops servicing the catchment area, including B&Q, PC World, Currys, Tesco, Next, Boots, Halfords, Comet and Wickes. The centre also offers a range of local facilities such as two pharmacies In Tesco and Boots, a cash machine within Tesco, KFC, McDonalds, and a cafe within Tesco; while the swimming pool and Bowling Alley provide leisure/community facilities to the wider population. The Ravenside centre has the potential to accommodate additional retail development which could not be accommodated in the town centre, thus further stemming the leakage to other centres and providing a sustainable pattern of development.
The site Is highly accessible by public transport and in particular buses 98 and 99 run past the site providing services to Sllverhill, Eastbourne and Hastlngs.

Object

Representation ID: 20484

Received: 27/01/2009

Respondent: BALI

BALI concentrates its objections to such plans and policies (or Strategies) on the Northern and Western areas of Bexhill but we believe there are policies for other areas of Rother which also conflict.
The Core Strategy should be further reviewed as to whether the strategies contained within it meet the high standards set in section 12.

Object

Representation ID: 20485

Received: 27/01/2009

Respondent: BALI

We feel however, that many plans and policies in the document do not represent a high level of landscape stewardship of the Rother landscape. The proposals in 6.33 to 6.38 regarding North and West Bexhill, for example, would seem intent on driving a "Ring Road" through rolling farmland and ancient woodland. and would clearly be inconsistent with the Preferred Strategy for Landscape Stewardship.

Object

Representation ID: 20486

Received: 27/01/2009

Respondent: BALI

Plans for North and West Bexhill would destroy or prejudice a substantial amount of green space in this area. In this connection BALI proposes, as a long-term strategy or vision, a Countryside Park in North Western Bexhill between the A269 and the Whydown Road incorporating the beautiful pastoral landscape and farmland to be found there, the SSSI and community-valued ancient woodland of the Highwoods and, when excavated, the Ashdown Quarries, which could be infilled and then made into a lake or reservoir.