Work has begun on five affordable rented homes on a former garage court in Biddenden Close, Langney. First approved in 2018, they are now due in summer 2027.

Building work has started on five affordable rented homes in Biddenden Close, Langney. They are going up on a former garage court, and the council says they should be finished next year.

Eastbourne Borough Council announced the start on Monday 5 October. The homes are being built for Eastbourne Community Land Trust (ECLT), a community benefit society. The council is managing the project on the trust’s behalf.

It has been a long road. The site first got planning permission for five houses in September 2018.

What is being built

The homes are on land off Biddenden Close, postcode BN23 7HX. According to the council and the 2023 planning report, the scheme includes:

  • three three-bedroom houses in a terrace facing Biddenden Close, with the top floor in the roof
  • two two-bedroom houses as a semi-detached pair at the back of the site
  • five parking spaces, one per home, off a moved site entrance
  • an air source heat pump, an electric vehicle charging point and a four-panel solar system on every home

All five will be let at affordable rents. The contractor is OSM Construction.

Eight years from garages to homes

The site used to hold 24 lock-up garages in two rows. The planning reports and council updates show how the scheme has moved, and how its finish date has slipped:

Timeline of the Biddenden Close scheme. 7 September 2018: first permission for five two-bedroom houses, applicant Eastbourne Homes Ltd. 21 August 2023: revised plan for three three-bedroom and two two-bedroom homes approved unanimously, ECLT. 25 March 2026: council says due to complete February 2027. 17 August 2026: OSM Construction takes over the site; council project page says complete May 2027. 5 October 2026: preparation work begins; council says completion summer 2027.
Graphic by Eastbourne Live. Source: Eastbourne Borough Council planning reports 180437 and 220453, Planning Committee minutes of 21 August 2023, council news releases and the Biddenden Close project page.
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The first plan, application 180437, was for five two-bedroom houses. The applicant was Eastbourne Homes Ltd. It was approved on 7 September 2018.

Those homes were never built. The land trust came back with a new design, application 220453. It swapped three of the two-bedroom houses for three-bedroom ones. The Planning Committee approved it unanimously on 21 August 2023. One councillor, Jane Lamb, left the room for that item because she was a member of the land trust.

Two neighbours wrote in. One objected that losing the garages would put more pressure on street parking. The other said the homes would breach the building line and that the planned materials were “drab”. Officers judged on-site parking would meet most of the demand.

Why the finish date keeps moving

The council has given three completion dates this year:

The project page says the trust ran a tender in 2023. Contract arrangements with OSM were then only agreed this summer, and the builder took over the site on 17 August 2026. Neither the council nor the trust has said why that took three years.

Who is paying

The council says the scheme was made possible by grant funding. It helped the trust to secure that money after the trust asked for support. Sandy Medway, the trust’s chair and chief officer, thanked the council and Homes England for their help.

Neither has published how much grant was awarded or what the homes will cost to build. Ms Medway said the trust has 200 members and social investors.

“These five new homes will provide much-needed affordable rented accommodation for local people,” said Cllr Peter Diplock, the council’s Cabinet member for housing.

What it means for you

  • If you live nearby, expect building work on the site until next summer. The homes back onto the footpaths linking Biddenden Close and Appledore Close.
  • If you need an affordable home, these five are rented, not sold. The council has not said how tenants will be chosen. We will report the letting arrangements when they are published.
  • If you want to follow other council-backed housing, see our report on the 30 council flats at the Old Orchard Road court site and the latest decisions on Eastbourne planning news.

Sources