Hastings amusement park's refurbishment plans back on the agenda

The application – for a range of works at The Stade Family Amusement Park – are expected to be discussed by Hastings Borough Council’s planning committee on Wednesday (October 10).

The proposals had been due for discussion at a committee meeting last month but were deferred due to concerns the application’s description did not make a controversial element of the scheme clear enough to a casual reader.

This would be the extension of the park’s boundaries by replacing a footpath between the beach and the A259 with a new narrower path.

By not making this clear the council’s decision would be left open to the possibility of a judicial review, officers told councillors at a meeting last month.

According to an officers’ report, planners received more than 18 objections to the application prior to the deferral. This included two petitions, one of which is considered to be invalid, the report says.

The report says many of the initial objections related to the new footpath being gated at both ends and closed off to the public.

Planning officers, who are recommending the application for approval, say this would not be the case and public access to the new path would be ‘unobstructed’.

However planners received an additional eight letters of objection following the decision to defer, many raising concerns about the scale of the proposed extension.

The council also received a single letter of support from Cllr Sue Beaney (Lab. – Braybrooke) who said she believes the work will ‘enhance the area’.

She said: “I am very aware of the concerns about this development. From my personal perspective the designs look as though they will enhance the attractiveness of the area, both as a tourist business and as a visual amenity.

“I take the point that the proposed path will be substantially narrower and more winding, but it will actually arrive at a point of easier access to the beach than at present.

“However the right of the public to access the area and walk through it must be maintained. I would ask that if possible a condition be added that the walk through should be accessible at all times ie that there should be no gate that would prevent this.”

For more details on the proposals see planning reference HS/FA/17/01056 on the Hastings Borough Council website.