Plans to replace Seaton bus garage and shop with nine new flats refused

Plans to demolish a retail store and bus garage in Seaton and replace them with nine new residential units has been refused.

East Devon District Council rejected the plans to convert the site of the Axe Valley Mini Travel garage and STC computer store at 26 Harbour Road, on the grounds that it "would harm business and employment opportunities in the area and result in the loss of existing employment land".

Both the STC store and bus service garage are at the end of tenancies and relocating to other sites, and the developer hoped to replace them with nine new residential units, including five three-bed maisonettes, three three-bed flats and one two-bed maisonette.

The application argued that "all other uses in the vicinity of Harbour Road have been vacated and converted and rebuilt as residential".

It added: "Commercial uses in this location are not viable and there is a need for high quality town centre housing in this sustainable location right next to a bus stop.

"The scheme will also bring about a marked improvement in the character of the residential area and remove the noise, disturbance and chemicals of existing bus garage and bus parking."

However, the decision report from East Devon District Council read: "The development would harm business and employment opportunities in the area and result in the loss of existing employment land, without it first being rigorously demonstrated through an appropriate marketing exercise that there is no interest in reusing the site for employment generating uses.

"Furthermore it has not been demonstrated that there is a surplus of land or provision of employment sites in the locality. The development would therefore not ensure that the local community remains vibrant and viable by reducing employment opportunities in favour of additional housing, which would not represent sustainable development."

The council also raised concerns that the site was within a flood zone and it had not been demonstrated that there was a lack of alternative sites available for the proposed development that were at less risk of flooding.

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