Pett Level is a tiny village, with an ever changing landscape of differing architectural styles, concentrated within a small hamlet, some of which adjoin the sea wall, and the properties on the north bank of the canal look across the water and towards the former Smuggler pub.
To the left of the pub is a row of Victorian coastguards’ cottages, and close to them ‘The Big White House’, a substantial architect designed white cube which featured on “Grand Designs” with Kevin McCloud.
Many of the smaller properties have long since disappeared and, following the lead of ‘The Big White House’, a small but distinctive collection of similar stilted ‘cube’ inspired dwellings have replaced them.
The Smuggler pub is now closed and planning was granted (RR/2019/1336/P0) for change of use to convert it to a doctors’ surgery (D1) with café (A3).
Just along the road, The New Beach Club has lodged a planning application (RR/2020/9/P) to demolish the existing beach club and replace it with a new two storey beach club and a new three storey residential dwelling, and this application has yet to be decided.
The planners at Rother District Council have had a bustling ‘in tray’ recently as plans have been approved to demolish the property ‘Clonette’ on Pett Level Road, a detached house and outbuilding and replace it with two, three storey dwellings and two single storey annexe studio buildings which Martello Developments are developing (see main photo).
If you walk behind these properties, you can gain direct access to the beach, where, sitting proud above the shoreline with unrestricted sea views and direct beach access was ‘Stonewalls’, a stunning and distinctive castellated residence which has now been demolished. ‘Stonewalls’ will once more rise again as it is being rebuilt “due to latent defects in the existing building structure” (RR/2017/1743/P).
Pett Level is changing at quite a pace, the street scene is now a mixture of traditional and very contemporary dwellings whilst the stunning coastline, other than pockets of localised coastal erosion, remains the same.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .
An interesting article showing how things are changing at the wonderful Pett Level! Let’s hope what is allowed by the planing department will enhance this unique coastal area with it’s pretty little church and some lovely what I would call ‘rufty tufty’ homes rather than turn it into another paradise for ‘the rich and famous!’