Neighbour’s fears over plan for homes in old quarry

A 93-year-old woman who has lived in her home for more than 60 years has voiced concerns over a plan to build 18 houses at the bottom of a sheer drop in Ocklynge Chalk Pit next door.

Silvia Verrall (above) moved to her house in Willingdon Road when it was built in 1961 and the surrounding area was largely farmland.

She brought up her family there and now her daughter Madeleine Verrall, 61, has moved back in with her. The pair are pictured above with trees at the edge of the quarry behind them.

The scheme for Ocklynge Chalk Pit was given conditional full planning permission by Eastbourne Borough Council’s planning committee on Monday night (July 17). The planning permission is still subject to positive reports about air quality, highways and flood risk.

Mrs Verrall told Eastbourne Reporter she was worried about what would happen if houses were built when she considered how erosion was affecting the chalk cliffs near Eastbourne.

“If the quarry is developed after all these years, the same thing could happen. I am so frightened of subsidence,” she said.

She recalled that the quarry and an abandoned building in it were used in the 1960s for civil defence training.

The site was given outline planning permission on a second hearing in 2021 after committee members had visited the site to see if it was suitable.

The previous landowner, East Sussex College, sold the site last year to Maxika Homes, based in Henley-on-Thames, with this outline permission.

Maxika Homes now have permission to demolish existing cottages on the site and build 18 houses and four apartments.

Madeleine Verrall addressed councillors at the meeting in the Town Hall before the application was discussed, saying the site had had no human habitation for 50 years and wildlife had flourished.

“It is a green oasis in a densely populated area. The steep sides have been undisturbed for many years … any intrusions into the chalk could be lethal for our property,” she said.

A report to the planning committee acknowledged that the site was at high risk of flooding.

The planning report also stated: “The proposal would deliver sustainable development and much needed housing on previously developed land (a former chalk pit).”

Coun Teri Sayers-Cooper (Lib Dem, Hampden Park), above left, said she had visited the site and had concerns about the effects building work would have on flora and fauna.

Coun Nick Ansell (Cons, Ratton), above right, asked whether there would be a surveyor’s report on the stability of the cliffs and was told building control officers would investigate that matter.

Council officers are still waiting for further responses from East Sussex County Council as the highway authority and local flood authority and Eastbourne Borough Council’s specialist advisor on air quality.

They had recommended permission was granted on condition these were received and approved by officers.

Maxika’s website describes the site as a disused three-acre chalk pit, saying they have “identified the potential in this unusual site”.

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