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21 White Rock

Planning application HS/FA/26/00254

21 White Rock, Hastings, TN34 1JY

Change of use

What is proposed

In the council’s words, from its weekly list:

Change of use of the third-floor private dwelling to additional House in Multiple Occupation (HMO… cut short in the council’s list; the full wording is on its file

Where it stands

The council’s file ↗

Conditions attached

The decision notice on the council’s file (published Mon 10 Aug 2026) attaches 7 conditions. In the council’s words, each with the reason it gives:

  1. Time limit to start
    The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

    Reason: This condition is imposed in accordance with the provisions of Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

  2. Built to the approved plans
    The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans: Location plan Proposed floor plans and block plan (1 001 01 REV 2)

    Reason: For the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of proper planning.

  3. Drainage and flooding
    The development shall be carried out in accordance with the submitted flood risk assessment (ref 245026-F01, dated 19/03/2026, compiled by Ashfield Solutions Group) and the following mitigation measures it details: · Implementation of the mitigation measures outlined in section 5.4 · As per the proposed plans there shall be no residential accommodation or habitable rooms at ground floor level. These mitigation measures shall be fully implemented prior to occupation and subsequently in accordance with the scheme’s timing/phasing arrangements. These mitigation measures shall be retained and maintained thereafter throughout the lifetime of the development.

    Reason: To reduce the risk of flooding to the proposed development and future occupants.

  4. Something else
    The development hereby approved shall be managed in accordance with the HMO Management Plan Statement dated July 2026. Any subsequent revisions or amendments to the management plan shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority before being implemented.

    Reason: In order to secure a well-managed development, protect the visual amenities of the area, the living conditions of future occupiers and in the interests of neighbouring residential amenity.

  5. How the building or land is used
    The HMO across the first, second and third floors of the building shall at no time be occupied by more than 10 residents.

    Reason: In the interests of local character, the amenity of the neighbouring residential occupiers and maintaining an adequate standard of living accommodation for occupants.

  6. Parking, access and cycles
    Waste and recycling associated with the development shall be stored within the dedicated refuse storage area identified on approved Plan No. 1 001 01 Rev 2 at all times. Waste and recycling shall not be stored on the public highway, except when presented at the kerbside for collection on the scheduled collection day. The approved refuse storage area shall be made available for use prior to the first occupation of the development hereby approved and retained thereafter.

    Reason: In order to secure a well-planned development that functions properly and prevents waste becoming a detriment to the surrounding area.

  7. How the building or land is used
    Prior to the first occupation of the development, a minimum of 4m² of built-in storage shall be provided within the dwelling in accordance with the Nationally Described Space Standard. Notwithstanding the timing of this requirement, no works to install the built-in storage shall commence until the requisite Listed Building Consent has been obtained, where such consent is required. The built-in storage shall thereafter be retained for the lifetime of the development.

    Reason: To ensure the dwelling provides an appropriate standard of accommodation for future occupants in accordance with the Nationally Described Space Standard, whilst safeguarding the special architectural and historic interest of the listed building.

We copy the numbered conditions and their reasons and nothing else from the notice; its notes to the applicant are on the file. The label on each is ours, by rules on the council’s wording. The conditions the council attaches, by kind of application

Conservation and heritage on this street

Measured along the street’s line against the council’s boundaries. Whether a particular building is inside depends on where the boundary runs: each area’s page on the council’s site has its map. All 18 conservation areas

The council’s street index lists these properties on White Rock under Article 4 directions, which take away some building work that wouldn’t otherwise need planning permission:

The council’s Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation covers the whole town (in force since 2 July 2012): turning a house into a shared house for three to six people needs planning permission. The council’s page ↗

Historic England’s list has an entry on this street that gives the same house number as this application. Check the entry to see whether it is this building:

7 listed buildings are on or beside White Rock: the street’s page lists them.

Conservation areas, Article 4 directions and tree preservation orders: Hastings Borough Council, Open Government Licence v3.0. Street lines © OpenStreetMap contributors. Listed buildings: © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Flood zones, the coast and protected nature on this street

We place an application by the street in its address, so these say where White Rock runs, not where the site’s boundary is. The application’s own documents on the council’s file show the site.

Flood zones

Part of White Rock is in Flood Zone 3 (the sea). That is the Environment Agency’s flood map for planning, which shows land that could flood from rivers or the sea, ignoring the benefits of any existing flood defences.

Locations in flood zone 3 have a high probability of flooding.

This means, in any year, land has:

Flood zone 3 developments need a flood risk assessment as part of their planning application.

The Environment Agency’s words, from Flood zones and what they mean ↗.

A street’s line is not an address. For a particular address, use the Environment Agency’s Check your long term flood risk ↗; for a planning site, its Flood map for planning ↗. Flood warnings in force now are on Live now.

The coast

The Environment Agency’s erosion map covers this frontage: one stretch of policy unit 4C24 Hastings (inc. the Harbour) ↗ in the Shoreline Management Plan, whose policy is Hold the line (Maintain/replace) in all three periods, 2005 to 2105: “Where protection is currently provided by coastal defence structures or managed beaches, and the intention is to retain a defence along approximately the current alignment. This will involve replacing defences when needed. Defence type, method and standard of protection may be modified over time.”

Part of White Rock’s line is inside the map’s No Future Intervention zone to 2105, and none of it inside the zone to 2105 with the plan delivered.

The figures are the width of the map’s erosion zone, inland from today’s shoreline, on the Higher Central allowance. In the Agency’s words: “Two periods: Medium Term (up to 2055) and Long Term (up to 2105).” “Two management scenarios: With Shoreline Management Plans delivered and No Future Intervention.” “Three climate scenarios: Present Day climate (2020), Higher Central allowance and Upper End allowance. The two allowances use sea level rise data from UKCP18 RCP8.5 70th and 95th percentiles respectively.” “All distances are cumulative over time and given in metres.”

The data and associated information are intended for guidance only - it cannot provide details for individual properties.

The data shows areas of land likely to be at erosion risk but does not show the precise future position of the shoreline.

Erosion may happen faster or slower than what we show, and risk may change over time.

The Environment Agency’s warnings on its erosion map, from its description of the data ↗.

The coast and its plan, unit by unit · On the map

Protected nature

No Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation, Local Nature Reserve, ancient woodland or country park is within about 100 m of White Rock’s line, and it is outside the High Weald National Landscape. Protected nature in Hastings

Flood zones: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. Open Government Licence v3.0. Fetched 2026-10-12.

Coastal erosion and the Shoreline Management Plan: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015. Open Government Licence v3.0. Fetched 2026-10-12.

Protected sites: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. Fetched 2026-10-12.

Street lines © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Comments on the application

The council’s file counts no comments from the public (as it stood on Wed 14 Oct 2026).

Who the council consulted

The bodies and officers the file lists as consulted, with the day each was asked.

Consultee responses on the file

Responses filed as consultee comments, named as the file names them, with the day each was published. What they say is in each document on the council’s file.

Is a comment public?

The council’s page on commenting says: “All comments will be made available to view online and will be treated in accordance with our privacy policy. Comments will be redacted where they contain personal information or are inappropriate in their content.” It also says: “Please note that we do not accept anonymous comments.” Commenting on an application, on the council’s site ↗ (read 13 October 2026).

We count the comments on the council’s file. We never copy a commenter’s name, address or words, and we don’t list who objected: that is on the file.

Similar applications nearby

Other applications of the same kind (change of use) on White Rock or in Castle ward, decided ones first, since our record starts on 21 April 2026. A refusal is marked; its reasons are in the decision notice on the council’s file. Each application is decided on its own facts.

Elsewhere in Castle

…and 3 more of the same kind nearby. Every application on White Rock is on its page.

If you think work doesn’t match what was approved

The council’s planning enforcement team looks into building work or a use that may not have permission, or may not follow the approved plans or conditions. Its page explains how to report it and which cases it deals with first: planning enforcement on the council’s site ↗

Our planning record starts on 21 April 2026, from the council’s weekly lists of new and decided applications. We list the site, the proposal, the dates, the decision, the comment counts and a permission’s conditions. We never copy a commenter’s or an individual applicant’s details; an applicant is named only when it is an organisation we can match exactly to a council, a registered charity or a company on Companies House. Planning is decided by the council, not by us.