Revised plans for shopping centre to go before councillors

Long-awaited plans to redevelop the Meridian Centre site in Peacehaven are due to go before councillors next week.

Lewes District Council’s Planning Applications Committee is expected to decide whether Morrisons can demolish the existing centre and replace it with a supermarket at a meeting in Newhaven next Wednesday (7 October).

The proposals are a revised version of stalled plans which were approved by councillors in 2023.

In addition to a new supermarket, the earlier version of the scheme also sought full planning permission for other work.

The plans included replacing the existing library with a new building, renovating and extending Community House and building shops and cafés on the eastern side of the site. There could be two drive-through takeaways.

Officials, in a report to the committee, said that the current application’s supermarket building would be smaller than the original proposal.

The reduction was the result of a “rationalised” design, they said, and would only cut the store’s trading area by about 221 square metres – slightly smaller than a standard tennis court.

The new application also now proposed “smaller scale” renovations for Community House than the original scheme.

While plans to build other shops on the site have been retained, the application now only seeks outline, rather than full, planning permission for this element of the scheme at this stage.

The revised plans no longer involve the construction of a new library building. Officials said that part of the existing building would be renovated as a result of the proposed scheme.

Officials also said that there would be some “accessibility improvements” which would result from the building’s frontage being served from the existing Meridian Centre and integrated into a new town square area.

In a statement submitted in response to the application, a spokesman for the library service said: “East Sussex County Council welcomes the principle of retaining library provision in a central and accessible location in Peacehaven and recognises the wider benefits of regeneration at the Meridian Centre.

“However, further information is required before the council can determine whether the existing building represents a suitable long-term solution.

“This information should include a condition survey, clear cost information and confirmation of the proposed handover, ownership, maintenance and repair arrangements.

“This information is essential to ensure any retained library provision is fit for purpose, affordable and sustainable for residents over the longer term.”

Lewes officials said that these concerns would not be “material to the planning application but should be addressed through the legal process of any transfer arrangement.”

Planning officials also said that the proposals would not impede the existing library function.

According to a report to Planning Applications Committee, the council received 119 letters of support and 16 objections.

Peacehaven Town Council and Telscombe Town Council have backed the proposals although both have also highlighted the need for planning conditions.

For further information, visit the Lewes District Council website and search for application reference LW/23/0018.