Fresh plans to convert closed St Leonards pub The Duke into flats are submitted

In an application to Hastings Borough Council, a developer is seeking planning permission to convert The Duke, a vacant former pub in Duke Road, into housing.

The scheme would see two new one-bedroom flats created at the building’s ground floor, while an existing maisonette on its upper floors (previously used as staff accommodation) would be extended and altered to improve living conditions.

The plans are very similar to a previous proposal for the same site, which were refused in March due to concerns about its design, highway access and potential impact on both the privacy and quality of life of neighbours.

In a report written at the time, a council planning officer said: “Although the principle of changing the use of the existing public house to residential accommodation may acceptable, the design and scale of the multiple additions to the building, the potential impact of the proposal on neighbouring access to sunlight and neighbouring privacy, and the potential highway safety issues associated with the proposed scheme make the scheme unviable at the present time.”

The developer says their updated plans should overcome these concerns, with smaller scale extensions than before, as well as design changes to reduce both overlooking and overshadowing.

It would also have off-street parking spaces to the rear (in the pub’s former beer garden), which would be accessed via a new entrance on Windsor Road.

In a design and access statement submitted as part of the plans, a spokesman for the developer said: “The proposed scheme has aimed to balance the requirements of converting the property into residential accommodation whilst utilising the most space efficient construction method and layout design.

“The proposals we feel provide an aesthetically pleasing scheme, one that still preserves the area and that does not look out of place within the local vicinity.”

In August 2022, the pub’s Facebook page announced the brewery had put the site up for sale, meaning it would be permanently closed until a buyer could be found.

For further information on the proposals see application reference HS/FA/23/00211 on the Hastings Borough Council website.