Rye Town Council decided at Monday’s (December 7) meeting to object to the plans proposed for redeveloping the old school site in Tilling Green with houses, flats and a new community centre. The former elderly school building is currently used a community centre.
The objection was on the basis that the developer, the Amicus Horizon housing association, needed to reconsider the height and design of the central four storey block of flats and the lack of a lift. The council took the view that the absence of a lift discriminated against various groups being housed there, particularly the elderly, but also the disabled – whatever their age.
The council decided not to defer taking a decision in order to get more information because Rother District Council (RDC) might consider the application without waiting to hear Rye’s views. Other objections were also raised to the development both at the council meeting and to RDC directly – and a last minute intervention by East Sussex County Council (ESCC) leader Cllr Keith Glazier did not dispel those concerns. ESCC owned the site, and Cllr Glazier also heads Rye Partnership who have been running the community centre to date.
Lengthy talks, in particular about flood risks on the site, have taken place between Amicus and the Environment Agency, and also with Col Anthony Kimber who heads REACT – Rye’s local voluntary team dealing with emergencies like floods.
Neither seemed happy with the detail in the application and raised objections, seeking reassurances, and Cllr Glazier read a last minute statement at the council meeting from Amicus’ architect, but whether that satisfies objectors remains unclear. Other objections made include the size of the development, the height and design of the flats and the continuity of the services provided by the community centre.
Chopping and changing
However the history of events over the past year in relation to the development is not encouraging, with the chopping and changing of plans, and an apparent persistent lack of clear and adequate information.
In March the replacement community centre was going to be two storeys and the flats would be three storeys, but concern was growing about the lack of detailed information. And Rye Partnership director Ian Ross told a meeting of centre hirers in April that he did not know what the plans were.
Amicus was summoned in April to a packed meeting of the town’s Public Services Committee, who were told by Cllr Glazier that he was shocked to hear the community centre was now only going to be single storey. Residents were equally shocked to hear that the new centre, despite earlier promises, was to be built on the site of the old school. This meant there would be a period of some months (possibly 18) without any community centre at all, and the flooding issues were then said to be causing further delays.
In June the council heard there was to be only a three hour consultation, during working hours, for local residents on the plans. And a revised plan, which only showed the site and included no details on interior design or height, was then stuck up on a blackboard in the centre during August. The council was unhappy about this and requests from Rye News for more detail about who used the centre and where the new centre would be in relation to the old one were not answered.
Questions about users
However the revised site plan did show that the new centre was no longer to be built on the site of the old one. That plan was then revised further before the planning application was made by Amicus, and initial reactions were unfavourable.
Also, since the April hirers meeting when at least one hirer said they might move because of the disruption, and another wanted to know where his computer training equipment could be stored, the first has moved out, and the other is still waiting – but expects to have to scrap some equipment and train people in unsuitable surroundings.
Amicus has also not satisfactorily explained why closure is still necessary now the proposed centre has moved well away from the existing building, and this may be a breach of the RDC’s own planning policy on protecting existing community services.
At Monday’s town council meeting local resident John Wylie expressed detailed concerns about both the flooding risk and the buildings’ design, though Anthony Kimber was more worried about the sewage and Southern Water’s apparently inadequate local pumping station. Cllr Cheryl Creaser felt the proposals were unsuitable for older people and those with disabilities, and Deputy Mayor Cllr Jonathan Breeds expressed similar concerns.
The weekend floods in Carlisle also led to concerns as “once in a hundred years” floods had happened twice in ten years, despite new flood defences. Many homes in Rye – around 1,400 – are very vulnerable, and the development increased that number. Cllr Rebekah Gilbert felt the proposals were not fit for purpose and in particular did not recognise the need to design out crime and related problems. Cllr Ian Potter thought the absence of a lift in the flats was discriminatory, and Cllr Andy Stuart wondered whether Amicus had seriously analysed the area’s housing needs.
And a big question mark still hangs over the centre’s hirers and users.
- Two at the meeting – the camera club and the Labour Party had no alternative place to go yet
- Another (the IT trainer) had been asking for help since April
- Two commercial users had moved out
- There was a possible question mark over the future frequency of the useful fund-raising bingo sessions, thought Residents Association chair Dan Lake, and
- if, as claimed, many have now found other accommodation, Dan Lake says he does not have a list, and Rye News has not seen a list.
However the Quakers have apparently found a new home.
Charles Harkness is a Rye Town Councillor