Lewes bus station will be replaced with new housing

The controversial plans, which will see Lewes bus station replaced with 32 flats, three houses and retail space, have been approved by the South Downs National Park Authority.

The bus station on the privately-owned site, in Eastgate Street, has been closed for more than a year and the permission means the Generator Group will have to provide £291,000 towards alternative bus facilities on the southern side of Phoenix Causeway. This financial contribution must be provided as soon as the new development begins.

The new bus provision, to be delivered by East Sussex County Council, will include two bus stops with shelters and real-time passenger information on the southern side of The Causeway.

There will be a further three bus stops, with shelters, real-time information, a kiosk and toilet facilities, on the northern side of The Causeway. These facilities are being provided by Human Nature Ltd as part of the 685-home Phoenix development that was given the go-ahead earlier this year.

The plan has attracted much opposition.

The mayor of Lewes Imogen Makepeace said residents have been “abandoned” over the proposals.

She said she will support a decision by campaign groups to request a judicial review of the scheme.

The original plans for the site were refused two years ago and, following discussions with National Park planning officers, the revised plans include a development of reduced size, height and scale.

The site is allocated for development in the adopted South Downs Local Plan, which stipulates that any development must provide an operationally satisfactory alternative to the bus station. East Sussex County Council, which oversees public transport and highways, said it is satisfied that the new development meets this criteria.

Mike Hughes, interim planning director of the South Downs National Park Authority, said: “This is a planning application that has attracted a great deal of public interest and understandably so, given its strategic position in thriving and historic Lewes.

“It’s a complex application for a key brownfield site that has been allocated for development for over a decade, including most recently in the South Downs Local Plan.

“We understand bus services and good infrastructure are a priority for local people and that’s why there is a very detailed and robust legal agreement attached to the planning permission, with a substantial financial contribution to help deliver the high-quality and safe bus infrastructure the town needs.

“Together with the Phoenix, this development will make use of a brownfield site, delivering much-needed housing and commercial opportunities for the town and local communities.”