Long Sutton Parish Council reacts to rejection of plan for HMOs and bedsit at listed building

‘Extremely pleased’ parish councillors have hailed a decision not to allow the transformation of a listed building — but issued a plea for more to be done to protect their town.

South Holland District Council has refused a proposal for two HMOs and a bedsit at 39 and 43 West Street in Long Sutton — the Natwest Bank and Brenchley House.

The council ruled that the scheme would do ‘significant harm’ to the historic building and would not create a well-designed living space for future residents.

Long Sutton Parish Council fought the proposals — and held a public meeting at the end of May to channel opposition to the scheme.

It said: “For once the voices of the public have been heard when in the past their objections and concerns regarding planning and other issues has fell on deaf ears.”

The parish council felt the public were not properly consulted and did not think the district authority handled the application appropriately.

More generally, the parish council feels that not enough has been done to protect the historic buildings in towns such as Long Sutton, arguing that this has been ‘robbing the communities of their identity and history’.

They pointed to the eyesore Bull Hotel site and buildings such as Connaught House in Long Sutton — now an HMO — as examples of the decline that has been allowed to happen to a ‘once proud Georgian town’.

Councillors also said that it feels young people are ‘overlooked’ and cannot afford housing — and reiterated their call for more powers to force developers to fund community improvements.

The parish council has long-argued that a ‘Community Interest Levy’ (CIL) could do this but the district insists this was explored in 2019 and is not ‘viable’.

There have been a number of examples in recent years of developers getting out of the obligations they sign up to in the planning process through deals known as ‘section 106 agreements’.

Long Sutton Parish Council feels this has contributed to a situation where there has been ‘no investment’ in the area’s infrastructure.

A spokesman added: “The parish council will continue to be vigilant regarding planning and conservation, will support their residents and will continue to press for CIL.”

The council also expressed its opposition to the recent decision to move the district to wheelie bins and disagreed with the fact that this was done via the council’s cabinet and not at a meeting where all ward members would have a say.