Comment

Representation ID: 3346

Received: 26/04/2012

The County Council is the landowner of this site. Our Estates Department have advised that there is currently an offer on the Ridge site from a care provider; 'Age Well. Our Adult Social Care Department have stated that the use of "close care" as a term is not one they would use and they're not sure what it really means. It is suggested that close care is replaced with care home. The intention is to pursue development of this site for Care purposes. The land below the Age Well site is surplus and will be disposed of after Age Well is developed.

From a transport perspective, access to the site should preferably be via Whitworth Road. Although access may be possible from Queensway at the southern end of the site there would be gradient & visibility issues to overcome. Access from Whitworth Road would also potentially allow a footway to be provided to the site from it current finishing point approximately half way along Whitworth Road. The area is served by a bus service with an hourly frequency which links to the town centre. Being in a Zone 4 area within the ESCC parking standards, adequate provision must be made on site for vehicle as well as cycle parking.

The main issue with this development is capacity on The Ridge. The road is approaching capacity at times. Any application would need to produce robust evidence that any additional traffic impact can be accommodated or effectively mitigated.

Any application if acceptable would be required to contribute towards improvements to the capacity on The Ridge including the complementary measures associated with the construction of the Bexhill Hastings Link Road.