Council turns down The Millers Arms pub demolition plans

In a decision notice published on Monday (November 17), Hastings Borough Council has refused an application seeking permission to demolish The Millers Arms — a former pub in Winchelsea Road — and build eight houses in its place.

Applicant BLX Hastings Ltd had argued the development — set out in two rows of four houses — would “create a high quality living environment for future residents” and make good use of a “highly sustainable” brownfield site.

The developer had also pointed to the council’s housing supply shortage as a factor in favour of the scheme, which would have provided an even-split of four- and three-bedroom houses.

But council planning officers said the development would result in “unacceptable harm” to the surrounding area due to a range of factors.

In a report setting out the decision, a council planning spokesman said: “The proposed development would cause harm to neighbourhood amenity, would not provide adequate living standards for future occupants, would cause harm to the character and appearance of the area, would negatively impact habitat and travel corridors of protected species, does not provide adequate space for waste and recycling storage and presentation, and additionally would have a negative impact on parking and highway safety.

“Considering the above, although the council has not demonstrated a five-year housing supply, the development would result in unacceptable harm.”

Planning officers noted how the proposals would have provided a“car-free” development, providing only a single car club parking space on the site.

This element of the scheme had been a common concern among objectors. The council received 18 letters of objection from local residents, who had also raised concerns around the scale and design of the proposed development.

Borough council planning officers and county council highways officers had raised concerns about the car free element of the scheme, saying the arrangement was likely to result in parking overspill to the surrounding area and therefore endanger highway safety.

Council planning officers had also judged the proposed houses to appear “overwhelmingly large and oppressive” to existing properties and lead to a loss of privacy in one neighbouring garden. Officers also had concerns about “mutual overlooking between habitable rooms” of the proposed homes.

The reasons for refusal did not include the loss of the pub due to the proximity of an alternative public house (The Old King John) a short distance away. The Millers Arms was also noted to have been closed since the Covid-19 pandemic and unsuccessfully marketed by estate agents.

For further information about the plans see application reference HS/FA/25/00423 on the Hastings Borough Council website.