The Bell Hotel and Land Adj 20 Leigh Hill, Leigh-on-Sea - 06/01716/FUL

On behalf of my Association I would like to raise our strong objections to the proposed development on the Bell Hotel site; our reasons are as follows:-

1) The blocks of flats will be detrimental to the visual aspect within the Leigh Conservation Area.

The site occupies a very prominent position in Leigh Old Town. The vista from Leigh Beach up to Leigh Church is one of the most important in the area and highlights the traditional and historic nature of the Conservation Area; this view is much valued by residents and visitors alike. The tall and massive blocks of flats that are proposed across the width of the site will be seriously detrimental to this aspect. This is particularly the case as there will be little remission from the very high and solid façade presented towards the beach (the small gaps between the blocks will only mitigate when glimpsed from a position directly in front of them).

When viewed from Leigh Hill and Leigh Park Road, the western block of flats will project very considerably to the west of the Bell Hotel resulting in a significant loss of view across the estuary; this projection will also detract from the appearance of the Hotel itself, a landmark building in Old Leigh, and from the architectural harmony of the road junction. This western block will also dominate and obscure the view from New Road looking east towards the estuary.

The view to the Grade II listed building (28 Leigh Hill) will also be seriously damaged as it will be enclosed and dominated by the blocks of flats.

Rather than reinforcing the historic context, this scheme will subvert it. Indeed, the view of historic Leigh seen from the beach area across the Conservation Area and up to Leigh Church will be obliterated.

2) The blocks of flats will be out of keeping within the Leigh Conservation Area.

New buildings within a conservation area must conserve the nature and quality of the area and must be sympathetic in their design and form. The proposed blocks of flats fulfil none of these requirements. Instead of enhancing the Conservation Area, they will, by their inappropriate design, height and bulk, detract from it. The design is similar to that previously considered inappropriate by English Heritage. The blocks will be far too big and dominating and will be detrimental to the street scene, townscape and the historical nature of the surrounding area.

3) The blocks of flats will be much too high.

The blocks will be considerably higher than the old buildings that were demolished some years ago. As the land drops away significantly towards the railway, alongside which these blocks are to be located, their actual height will be considerable and will appear very dominating to people on the beach and railway walkway. The pre-existing buildings consisted of low cottages and one house built well towards the eastern boundary of the site; to liken the proposed blocks to these would be misleading. More importantly, whereas the long demolished house occupied but a small area to one side, the tall blocks of flats will occupy the whole width of the very wide site.

4) The flats will have a negative impact on the amenities of the neighbouring dwellings.

The blocks of flats will over-shadow neighbouring dwellings and will cause an actual and perceived loss of privacy. To argue that the over-shadowing is a return to the situation prior to the demolition of the old buildings is specious. This massive scheme is of a completely different scale to the pre-existing situation and this should be emphasised in the report to the Committee.

5) There will be insufficient amenity space.

The amenity areas being provided fall well short of standard requirements. To say, as the previous planning report did, that this shortfall is mitigated by the proximity of Leigh Beach is a weak justification. Is it seriously being suggested the residents will walk up to Leigh Hill and back over the railway bridge whenever they need a breath of air? This scheme represents a serious over-development of the site.

6) There will be insufficient parking and increased risk to road users at an already dangerous junction.

The parking provision is inadequate for an location poorly served by local transport. In an area of parking stress, the number of vehicles using the site will exacerbate an already bad situation. The inadequate parking and unsatisfactory provision for refuse collection and servicing means that the resulting traffic congestion will pose significant dangers to other users of the public highway. Vehicles will be parked on the street and may well have to reverse on to a busy road. It should be noted that the Council’s Highways Department recommend refusal for the previous application.

This proposal runs against the very constraints that the Council applied to developments in the Leigh Conservation Area. The new proposal makes hardly any concessions to the main reasons why the earlier application was refused; it is still visually unacceptable and it still seriously restricts the views over the Conservation Area.

We ask you in the strongest terms to recommend refusal of this inappropriate and damaging scheme.

Yours faithfully,

Eddie Cornish,

Chairman, West Leigh Residents Association