PROPOSED ELEVATION SOUTH WEST: MAJ ARCHITECTS
DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT
Application: WD/2018/1320/F
www.wealden.gov.uk
We may be approaching the most radical change in the fortunes of Pevensey Bay for years. We can also tell you that the Committee meeting being held on the 7 August 2018 by Pevensey Parish Council, will include the plans for the Beach Tavern and the developer will be attending the meeting.
—Bay Life, 24 July 2018
The Beach Tavern development has reared what is increasingly looking like a slightly less ugly head.
The Planning inspector, Sheila Holden expressed clear views in dismissing the appeal against the first application “Its overall width, depth, mass and bulk would dominate the site and appear out of scale with other nearby buildings. Its angular shape would also be incongruous and incompatible with the surrounding street scene.
“In my view when seen in the context of the surrounding development, the building would appear alien and out of place on this prominent and important site in the village”. Noteworthy in her decision is the perception that applications should ensure that developments establish a strong sense of place.
Ray Foss , the owner of the site and and his new team of architects, MAJ, have read the runes.
The design statement for the first application was an embarrassment. The architect explained that the date of the Beach Tavern build was not known. As was pointed out at the time, since the land was sold at auction in 1905, the date of the build was likely to have been 1906.
The architect also suggested that he would pick up the colours of the beach huts here.There are no beach huts here. He also talked about Pevensey Bay as a town. The useful book by local historian Dr. Alan Starr, Making History in Pevensey would have been a reference point of some description with an explanation of what happened here.
On page one he explains “In 1700 Peveney on longer a port and the town became, in either sense, a backwater”. This time also marked the birth of Pevensey Bay.
A number of these questions have been addressed by the new architects in an extensive, design statement. There is an acknowledgement of a possible date of build on the site of the Beach Tavern. The building footprint, is reduced a little, There is a re-casting and a re-shaping of the building somewhat. Underground car parking is proposed. How will that work?
The eclectic, vernacular values of the architecture here, have now been considered. What are we seeing with this application? Local opinion appears to be divided.
At the front of the building, we will see large palm trees to soften the approach.
So what will happen? We will be polling local public opinion on our new beta web platform.
Meanwhile, look left as you approach what may become the new heart of Pevensey Bay, with a contrapuntal point at the Beach Tavern.
The Bay Hotel , built in 1897, may well be coming to the stage again in the form of a renovation.
The hotel, our original reference point as a visitor destination of note, is under offer.
You will even see a description of the neo-Gothic heights in the design statement for the Beach Tavern site, by architects MAJ.
We believe a sale may be imminent.
We understand that a three day survey has taken place with regard to the building by the potential new owner,
The next year in Pevensey Bay could well see the most radical re-alignment of our fortunes, in terms of perception of our local street scene, in our lifetimes. The reference point is a key co-ordinate in our collective psyche. What will be happening, if we see these change taking place, will have a bearing not just on residents, but on all our visitors.
And of course, the fragile local business base here may well begin to mimic the changes over time. to a certain extent.
Of course the development of the underground parking at the Beach Tavern site may mean that the proposal does not pass the test at Wealden Council. We may end up looking at an eyesore falling down in the front of our eyes for the next few years. No-one may buy the Bay Hotel. These things are possible.
What seems more likely is that things will move fast.
If we are to be turned into a building site for a year, what will the future hold for Pevensey Bay?
Our distinct quirky vernacular values must at all cost be protected. We will see what happens next in the hidden jewel in the crown of Sussex. At a time of radical change what is fundamentally important is that local people are given the opportunity to express their views, and hopefully be heard.
We can also tell you that the Committee meeting being held on the 7 August 2018 by Pevensey Parish Council, will include the plans for the Beach Tavern and the developer will be attending the meeting.
The Big Story: Here is the News: Pevensey Bay to become building site? Edition 20 of the Pevensey Bay Journal, together with the poll results from local people, will be available in local newsagents soon.
