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Search the Public Notice PortalA council has been ordered to pay costs after wrongly blocking plans for up to 250 homes over flood fears.
Government planning inspector Jennifer Wallace has overturned Wealden District Council's refusal of outline planning permission for the major development on land east of Golden Jubilee Way in Westham, near Stone Cross, north of Eastbourne.
In a separate ruling, she also partially granted an award of costs against the local authority for "unreasonable behaviour" that caused the applicant wasted expense.
The scheme, put forward by Nigel Hobbs, proposed building up to 250 properties alongside a new roundabout junction onto Golden Jubilee Way.
Planning officers threw out the application in July 2025, claiming the development would be at unacceptable risk from potential future tidal flooding driven by climate change.
The council suggested the proposals did not address future scenarios excluding the presence of sea defences.
But Ms Wallace said it was "highly unlikely" that coastal defences protecting the substantial urban area of Eastbourne would ever be removed, and this was not a reasonable basis to assess flood risk.
She highlighted that the Environment Agency (EA) had formally withdrawn its earlier objection after the developer submitted a revised flood risk assessment.
The inspector found that the council had failed to substantiate its primary reason for refusal, in light of the EA having no issue with the development.
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She also criticised council bosses for administrative errors, noting that provisional arrangements for the appeal hearing were sent just 15 days before the date, causing the applicant to incur wasted expense.
The partial costs order requires the council to pay Mr Hobbs's expenses incurred in dealing with the hearing postponement and the assessment of residual flood risk, with the final sum to be assessed in the Senior Courts Costs Office if not agreed.
Reserved matters detailing the layout, scale, appearance and landscaping of the development must now be submitted to the local authority within three years.
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