Whatever may or may not be happening behind the scenes, the land behind the Queen Adelaide in Ferry Road is clearly unlikely to become the site of another supermarket – given the problems some face, the fierce competition, and the growing role of home deliveries.
Rye Academy is apparently interested in replacing its current elderly buildings which are costly to maintain, and could use this adjacent land, but funding has to be found – and the Government appears to be cutting back in most areas.
However, while we wait, it seems unlikely that a new school building will need the same amount of access from Ferry Road as the supermarkets, Sainsbury and Tesco, appeared to want at one stage.
That therefore begs the question about what is the future of the Queen Adelaide and the row of houses next door (shown above). The pub is in active use, but the houses are not – at a time when a national housing shortage is recognised. And this question was raised at a recent meeting of the Labour Party covering the Rye part of Amber Rudd’s constituency, as well as surrounding villages up to the edge of Hastings Borough.
The houses have not featured, as far as I can recall, in any recent meetings of Rye Town Council – including the Public Services Committee, which looks at housing needs, Planning, which includes the Neighbourhood Plan in its final drafting stages, or the full Council.
This may well be because the supermarkets’ competing plans involved much larger access to the site from Ferry Road (possibly even including a garage or filling station) which therefore meant the pub and these homes would be demolished.
However the council has been taking an interest in making more rentable accommodation available in the town, and possibly these homes – left abandoned and empty for many years – could be restored to use. What do you think ?
Maybe someone somewhere already has plans for these homes – but it could be that they have been completely overlooked and can, and should be, separated off from the main site and put back into use.
Photo: Ray Prewer
Image Credits: John Minter .
These houses have been empty far too long and the current owners should be made to sell them as they are no longer a bargaining tool that the supermarkets could use with regard to obtaining the lower school site.
These cottages are in the land bank of one of the big supermarkets. Therefore there future is in the hands of market forces! Like many pieces of such land and property across the Country in either public or private ownership, we have to wait for the owner to release. What is clear is that this type of owner is difficult to influence!
I am new to rye I walk pass these cottages every day. It is a shame that they are being allowed to be left derelict and neglected. With so may young people unable to get houses these could be revamped and rented out.
If I could afford to buy them I would . It is time for the council to act