"Unacceptable" plans to demolish and rebuild part of a church have been turned down at appeal for a second time. Proposals to replace part of The Sanctuary of Beulah Baptists Church in Clifford Road, Bexhill, with a new church building have again been dismissed. The application had been a revised version of plans which had been turned down by Rother District Council in 2021.
The council had refused this initial scheme due to concerns about the loss of the original building (a non-designated heritage asset) and the “inadequate design quality” of its replacement. A planning inspector only partly shared these concerns at the time, judging the demolition was acceptable but the design of the replacement was not. The more recent application included a revised design, which the church argued should overcome the previous reasons for refusal.
The church also reiterated its reasons for seeking the demolition, saying the existing building requires significant repairs and ongoing maintenance, which is “increasingly financially unviable.” What Beulah Baptist Church currently looks like (Image: Planning application) Rother District Council took a different view, however, refusing the revised scheme in October 2023 on the grounds that it would harm the character and appearance of the area as a result of “a lack of cohesive quality and design”. The design was previously described as "blockish" by The Victorian Society.
Connor McNeill, conservation adviser for the society, said: ".