Any changes in Military Road invariably cause a stir and a plan to build a garage with a loft studio on an empty site near the Globe has proved no exception.
Rye News has reported on this before but on Thursday, November 11, at a meeting of Rother District Council the development was approved by a majority of 8 to 2.
There has been considerable opposition to this project and while it is understandable that local residents do not want further building along their road, it must be remembered that this is not a truly “greenfield” site and that a somewhat larger structure did once occupy this spot.
Much more of a problem, however, would seem to be the congestion in the road caused by parked vehicles that clearly belong neither to residents nor to patrons of the Globe but have simply been displaced from the town centre by the arrival of the new parking controls that have been in place for the last year.
This congestion had been anticipated and is therefore no surprise, but the town was promised a review of CPE (civil parking enforcement) by ESCC leader Keith Glazier after its first year of operation. We await that review and any comments from Cllr Glazier.
Image Credits: Nick Forman , Rye News Library .
Good old Rother planners. Totally immune to any notion this might have a meaningful effect on the people who actually live in Military Road, doubtless all of whom would welcome the traffic-free view in the 1900 photo which references the “original building”. No restrictions in the planning notice as to future use or sale…
The key change between then and now in the two photos is the total lack of vehicular traffic in the one from the 1900s. That surely should have made a difference to any decision in the 2020s
One has to wonder why there has been considerable opposition building on a brownfield site,which could only be described as an eyesore, what we have seen over the years in Rye,flood plains being built on, a greenfield sacrifised, a new library site promised,which ended with luxury flats being built on it, and a new primary school built on allotments,when the old school site laid barren nearby, so for once the planners got it right,allowing this development on this brownfield site.
This site wasn’t an eyesore until the current owners removed the trees and vegetation. There has been a recent flurry of planning applications being “rubber stamped” with no regard to local objections or even crucial matters such as land stability.