Self-storage site ‘yes’
A HUGE self-storage site has been given the go-ahead despite councillors’ concerns over the traffic it will generate.
Curtis Storage have been given permission to install up to 201 one-storey transport containers at the old waste vehicle depot in Bulverhythe Road, St Leonards.
They will be let out to people as self-storage units and the site will be open six days a week for the owners to access their belongings.
At last Wednesday’s meeting of the Hastings Borough Council (HBC) planning committee, HBC officer Ray Crawford said the scheme was a good solution for a disused site.
However, Cllr Matthew Beaver raised concerns about the amount of cars that would be using the road.
According to council projections, the site would generate about 37 vehicle movements a day, which Cllr Beaver said would overwhelm Bulverhythe Road.
“That is 13,500 extra cars, lorries and vans every year on a road that is not a main road and has been plagued with problems in the past,” he said.
But other members pointed out the site used to be a busy depot and that compared to that, this would not represent a huge change.
An attempt to force the developers to plant a screen of trees to hide the site was voted down, after it was described as “disproportionate” by Mr Crawford and “unrealistic” by Cllr Godfrey Daniel.
“This is an industrial area not Alexandra Park,” he said.
But Cllr Joy Waite slammed the decision.
She said: “It is incumbent on a planning authority to improve a town and not just do the same thing again and again.
“We need to raise our standards and do something better.”
The application was approved although councillors did add a condition that a wall high enough to screen the containers should be part of the development.
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Weather for Hastings
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 15 C
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Wind direction: West
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