- Decision
- dismissed, 23 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: L J Evans
- Authority
- Eastbourne (South East)
- Appeal reference
- 6010944
- Application reference
- 250283
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Change of use from C1 guest house to C4 HMO in a designated Tourist Accommodation Area
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- S4, E2
- Development plan policies
- Eastbourne Borough Plan TO1, TO2, HO14, HO20, Eastbourne Core Strategy 2013 B2, D3, Tourist Accommodation Retention SPD, HMO SPD
- Main issues
- tourist accommodation; HMO concentration; refuse and cycle storage
Summary
Change of a guest house in Eastbourne's Tourist Accommodation Area to an HMO was dismissed. It would lose tourist accommodation and add to an HMO concentration well above the 10% threshold (DL ¶15-16).
What made the difference
Specific local protection of the tourist area and a quantified HMO concentration. The balance is expressed as "substantially and demonstrably outweigh", which blends the 2024 and 2026 tests (DL ¶24).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| E2 | harm | loss of tourist accommodation harms Eastbourne's tourism economy; HO14 bars HMOs in the Tourist Accommodation Area (DL 10, 16) | |
| P3 | harm | HMO concentration within 100 m about 23.9% against a 10% SPD threshold, harming residential amenity (DL 15-16) | |
| S4 | fail | adverse impacts "would substantially and demonstrably outweigh the benefits" - a hybrid of the 2024 and 2026 wording (DL 24) |
Key facts
- Parties consulted on the 17 Aug 2026 Framework (DL 2)
- Refuse and cycle storage acceptable subject to condition (DL 19)
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.