Page 208 - All files for Planning Inspectorate update

appropriate in the village of Ashurst Wood, while 3 storeys would only be
acceptable if designed to appear as 2.5 storeys”. The latter would
precisely reflect the design of the flats in Ashbourne Park, adjacent to the
EDF site.

 In spite of the under-provision of parking spaces the site is still dominated by
roadways and parking. There is still minimal communal green space

 It is envisaged that ten parking spaces will be located on the left immediately after
entering the site from Lewes Road. Apart from the risk of traffic entering the site
from the Lewes Road encountering residents manoeuvring in and out of these
spaces, this will require the loss of all the trees and shrubbery currently there, and
more in the exit area of the site, which will further damage the otherwise rural
nature of the area. You recognised this in your rejection letter of 11 March 2019,
when you said:-

“The proposed loss of trees adjacent to the site entrance is unfortunate as it

undermines the sylvan character of this part of Lewes Road and contributes to
the hard-edged character of the development, as replacement trees will take

time to establish themselves and will not so effectively screen / soften it from
the road.”

Yet again – what has changed since then?

 We still aver that the traffic analysis done was flawed. The historical estimates of
EDF traffic assumed that it was a standard office location, whereas it was in fact a
disaster recovery centre which operated on a 24 hour/365 day shift basis with a
completely different and diffused traffic pattern. Secondly the exercise went on to
compare measured city centre office locations with a prediction for what is a rural
residential location populated at least in part by retirees. How this exercise can
come up with any meaningful comparisons is difficult, if not impossible, to see.

 Policy ASW14 of the AWNP provides that development uses “design that respects
the scale and character of existing and surrounding buildings” and that “the design
of the particular development has addressed and protected the positive features of
the character of the local area”. It is impossible to see how the current proposals
comply in any way with this policy. The rather brutalist “city centre” design is wholly
inappropriate to the character of the immediate area.

We note that when Ashbourne Park was built the developer included design
elements drawn from the architecture of the adjacent LIC, leading to a harmonious
and sympathetic development. The new proposals for the EDF site could and should
have done the same.

In summary we believe that:-

6