Councillors approve works to Bexhill listed building

On Thursday (July 30), Rother District Council’s planning committee granted Listed Building Consent for works at West Station in Terminus Road.

The application, submitted by the council itself, was to replace a “defective” flat roof at the northeastern end of the building and repairs to a curved cupola.

A heritage statement submitted as part of the application  said the works would be to the “part of the building originally used as a Refreshment Room, and latterly a pub (now vacant).”

The same part of the building had been discussed by the council’s cabinet. A report from the meeting, which took place on Monday (July 27), said the former refreshment room has been vacant since 2019 and was considered to be in a very poor and partially “unsafe” condition.

While the full discussion took place in a confidential session, the council  confirmed cabinet members agreed to put the building up for sale after carrying out the repairs “necessary to make the building safe, reduce ongoing water ingress, address the most urgent defects and slow further deterioration”.

A report said this would result in the council losing control of ‘a well-known heritage asset with regeneration, economic and social use potential for the Beeching Road area’.

To offset this risk, officers said the council would need to give “careful consideration” to how it markets and disposes of the site “to ensure that a suitable owner is found to take on stewardship of this important property.”

Cabinet members also considered three other options for the site: doing nothing; making temporary repairs; or carrying out a more comprehensive programme of repairs, which fell short of a full refurbishment.

For further information on the listed building consent proposal see application reference RR/2026/0643/LBC on the Rother District Council website.