PLANS are underway to build new council housing in Newhaven, after senior councillors backed proposals to buy up the town’s former police and fire stations.

On Monday (February 10), members of Lewes District Council’s cabinet signed off on plans to buy up the former police and fire station sites in Newhaven, with a view to building new council houses in their place.

According to papers considered at the meeting, the council has already begun negotiations with Sussex Police and East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service on the price of the sites.

While the two sites are not physically linked, the council says it intends to develop both sites as a joint project. 

The details of this project are still at an early stage, but the meeting papers do lay out its broad aims. 

According to the papers, the former fire station, which sits at the junction of Fort Road and West Quay Road, would likely to be replaced by seven three-bedroom homes. 

Located at the junction of South Way and South Road, meanwhile, the former police station could be replaced with between 15 and 25 flats. 

The papers go on to say the properties would be intended to include energy saving features in their design.

Further details of the project are expected to be reported back to the council’s cabinet in the near future.

There are not currently any fixed timescales for delivery of this outcome, but the council says it expects the background work will be completed within 9 months.

The council is also in the process of applying to Homes England for funding to support the development of these two sites.  If granted, this funding would have to be spent before the end of March 2021.

The proposals were welcomed by cabinet member for housing Cllr William Meyer in a statement released after the meeting.

He said:  “I am hopeful we will be able to design, gain planning consent and consider a fully costed development at Cabinet, before the end of the year.

“The Newhaven Neighbourhood Plan has identified the police station for residential development and an old planning consent on the fire station means that we should get these homes built and residents living in them, much sooner than typical housing schemes.”