School site redevelopment set to move forward

Plans for the residential redevelopment of a former school in Rottingdean have been recommended for approval despite opposition to the scheme.St Aubyns School closed in mid-2013 but had been a fee paying school with boarding facilities.Sussex-based developer Fairfax acquired the site last year and is seeking full and listed building permission for its planned redevelopment.Conversions of the grade II-listed Field House building, Rumneys and a terrace of cottages are envisaged which, alongside some newbuilds, will create 93 homes with access from Steyning Road and Newlands Road.The existing sports pavilion, war memorial, water fountain and chapel will be retained.Reports to be scrutinised by Brighton & Hove City Council have recommended that the listed and full applications are approved subject to the secretary of state deciding not to the call the case in.Those recommendation are made despite opposition to the scheme, with 414 representations received from residents and St Aubyns Field Evergreen (SAFE) objecting to the proposed development.Concerns raised include issues relating to the design, the loss of a playing field and the impact on the highway. Nine representations of support were also received.According to planning officers, it is considered that the public benefits of the scheme as a whole are such that they outweigh any harm that would occur due to the partial loss of the playing field.The proposed scheme would also secure the re-use and conversion of the principal grade II-listed building, Field House, and associated curtilage listed cottages that are currently vacant while the removal and replacement of the modern buildings in conjunction with the conversions and new builds would “represent a significant improvement to the campus site in heritage terms”.The recommendations are subject to conditions, including a proviso that 40 per cent of the scheme is given over for affordable housing.