Plans to build a two-storey block of retirement apartments in Peasmarsh are set to be considered by Rother District Council’s planning committee on Thursday 16 April. The new development will be constructed on land at the junction of Main Street and Tanhouse Lane, close to Jempson’s Superstore and the Grade II listed Pond Cottage.
Oak Tree Homes Trust want to provide the units as affordable housing for local people over 55, with a 20% discount. They also want to create a community hub to benefit residents and the local area.
The Trust is a non-profit Christian charity started in 2010 by Jempson’s, in its 75th year. The organisation, whose trustees include members of the Jempson family, already runs a similar scheme near Tunbridge Wells called Strawberry Hill House.
Council planning officers have recommended the scheme should be refused, raising concerns about its impact on both the surrounding landscape and nearby heritage assets.
In a report to councillors, officers warn the development would result in the loss of mature trees and an historic routeway, while introducing what they describe as a “large, modern form of development” into the High Weald National Landscape.
They argue the building’s size and design would dominate Pond Cottage and partially obscure it, causing harm to the setting of the listed building. While this harm is described as “less than substantial”, officers say it is avoidable and not outweighed by the scheme’s benefits.
Questions have also been raised over whether the proposal meets local planning policies, particularly those relating to affordable housing. Although the applicant intends to sell the apartments at 20% below market value, officers say there is insufficient evidence of local need or that the homes could not be delivered on a more suitable site within the village boundary.
The Peasmarsh Neighbourhood Plan also requires a minimum 50% discount for affordable housing on such sites, a threshold the current proposal does not meet.
Despite the recommendation for refusal, the application will be decided by the planning committee after being called in by ward councillor Paul Osborne. He has said the scheme could offer positive social benefits, a view also supported by Peasmarsh Parish Council.
A spokesperson for Oak Tree Homes Trust described the charity. “We have many supporters, holding fundraising events through the year, and benefit from greeting and Christmas card commissions and legacies, which we are incredibly grateful for. This all helps to support our key objectives of providing low cost, quality housing for older, local people and allows them to remain in the community they love and have been part of for many years. The Trustees take no remuneration from the charity, as such costs are kept to the absolute minimum, with service charges being considerably lower that the equivalent properties currently on the market.”
Agents for the developer argue the site should be seen as part of the wider Jempson’s complex, reducing its visual impact. They also highlight potential heritage benefits, including restoration work to Pond Cottage.
For further information see application reference RR/2025/141/P on the Rother District Council website.
Image Credits: Oak Tree Homes Trust. .