Illegal road permission rescinded

Gabriel in the Hollington Valley

Local residents are celebrating after Hastings Borough Council agreed that it had made an error in law in granting planning permission for the £15 million Queensway Gateway Road (another new road opening up the countryside for yet another empty business park).  Somehow the Council forgot to mention to councillors taking the decision that the road would have breached EU air pollution limits.

The Council has agreed to cancel the permission and the High Court case brought by a local resident, Gabriel Carlyle (pictured above), will not now go ahead.

A few days after permission was granted, and despite the fact that the Council knew it was likely to be challenged, tree-felling started in the valley, destroying ancient oak trees and a valuable habitat – destruction that should never have taken place.

The Combe Haven Defenders report on their blog that: “The agreement between the council and Gabriel’s lawyer still has to be formally approved by the court, but we understand this is likely to be a formality.”

But they also warn that the road’s promoters – SeaChange Sussex – may come back and apply for permission again.  If that was not enough, developers (and it’s probably SeaChange Sussex) want to build yet another new road, called the North Bexhill Access Road, linking the A269 Ninfield Road with the Bexhill Hastings Link Road.