JOIN US IN OUR FIGHT WHAT DO WE SAY ABOUT NORTHEYE? NO NO NO !
Northeye is the proposed location of a new Asylum Seeker Accommodation Centre on the western edge of Bexhill, East Sussex. The site lies to the north of the A259, on the edge of Pevensey Levels, as you enter Little Common, Bexhill. Its most recent use was as a military training camp, owned by the UAE. It had been unused for around 10 years with security guards protecting the property which is surrounded by high wire mesh fences. In April or May 2022 the last UAE employee to work there warned residents that the site had been sold and would be used to accommodate asylum seekers. This was dismissed as misinformation; it turned out to be true.
The site was originally an RAF base and then a Category C prison. Around 50 houses were built next to the site to accommodate prison staff.
Northeye is named after the medieval village which was on Pevensey Marshes just to the west of the current site.
The following is an extract from the Rother District Council 2019 DaSA Development and Site Allocation Plan describing the location, use and nature of the site. This confirms that the site should have been on the radar of any District Councillor given the statement in point 9.111 on page 152 that redevelopment “should be proactively planned for.” The plan discusses commercial/tourism and residential use, proposing a residential scheme. It states that the stream valley which runs through the site should be retained and managed as a boundary to built development and that the area located within Flood Area 3 should be kept free from development.
https://rdcpublic.blob.core.windows.net/website-uploads/2020/01/DaSA_Adopted_December_2019_Web.pdf
9.106 This large, part brownfield/part greenfield site lies on a north-facing slope extending
down to the edge of the Pevensey Levels on the north side of the A259, a little
beyond the western extent of Bexhill. Access is provided by Wartling Drive, served off
Coneyburrow Lane, a short distance from its junction with the A259.
9.107 The site was a training centre for the United Arab Emirates, but ceased some years
ago and the site is presently mothballed. There is no intention to bring the site back
into training use for its purposes. Hence, the site is available for redevelopment.
9.108 Of note, its somewhat exposed countryside location reflects the fact that the site was
originally established as a RAF base in 1944 and then developed as a prison, which
existed until 1992 before being taken over by the United Arab Emirates.
9.109 The total site area is approximately 15ha, with a variety of accommodation,
education and operational buildings covering about 9ha. The remainder is open and
undeveloped, the northern part previously providing recreation fields for the Centre.
The central area alongside the stream which runs through the site is in Flood Zone
3. A small residential estate sits alongside the approach to the site off Wartling Drive.
Otherwise, the setting is very rural in character.
9.110 It is evident that this is a very sensitive site, most notably due to its position adjacent
to an internationally-designated ecological site of the Pevensey Levels, its largely rural
setting and associated visual exposure, as well as being somewhat isolated from the
main built-up area of Bexhill.
9.111 New development in such a situation would normally be resisted, but given the
brownfield nature of a large part of the site, redevelopment of that area (excluding
land that falls in Flood Zone 3) should be proactively planned for.
9.121 The site is located within the Pevensey Levels SAC/RAMSAR Hydrological Catchment
where, in accordance with the Plan’s Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA), a
minimum of two types/stages of Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) treatment will be
required in order to address the possible negative effects from surface run-off and
hydrological pathways on the water quality in the Levels. The SuDS should also be
designed to provide multiple benefits in terms of not only maintaining water quality
but also promoting opportunities for ecological and recreational enhancement and
reinforcing local landscape character and the design of the development. Any proposal
to develop the site must be accompanied by a Habitats Regulations Assessment to
determine beyond reasonable scientific doubt that the requisite SuDS mitigation is
achievable and that any adverse impact on the integrity of the Levels can be avoided.
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