Former The St Leonards Academy Darwell Campus, Darwell Close

Planning application HS/TP/26/00486

Former The St Leonards Academy Darwell Campus, Darwell Close, St Leonards-on-sea, TN38 9JP (adjacent to Wilting Close)

Trees This asks for the council's consent to work on protected trees.

What is proposed

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

T04 Corsican Pine - remove dead branches from southern aspect to achieve 6m clearance

Where it stands

The council’s file ↗

Conditions attached

The decision notice on the council’s file (published Thu 22 Oct 2026) attaches 2 conditions. In the council’s words, each with the reason it gives:

  1. Time limit to start
    The works hereby permitted shall be undertaken before the expiration of two years from the date of this consent.

    Reason: In the interests of the health of the trees and the visual amenity of the area.

  2. Something else
    The works shall be completed in accordance with BS 3998:2010

    Reason: In accordance with good arboricultural practice.

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

None of the town’s 18 conservation areas reaches Darwell Close as mapped.

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 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 ↗

Tree preservation orders within about 40 m of Darwell Close’s line, from the council’s map data:

Indicative only — the council’s order is what counts. The council says of its tree order map data: “This dataset is under review and subject to change. Always refer to the Original Tree Preservation Order and associated plan for confirmation.” The council’s tree preservation orders page ↗

Conservation areas, Article 4 directions and tree preservation orders: Hastings Borough Council, Open Government Licence v3.0. Street lines © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Flood zones, the coast and protected nature on this street

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

Flood zones

None of Darwell Close’s line is in Flood Zone 2 or 3 on the Environment Agency’s flood map for planning. In the Agency’s words: “This means a site in flood zone 1 could still flood now or in the future.”

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.

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 Darwell Close’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 Thu 22 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 (trees) on Darwell Close or in West St Leonards 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 West St Leonards

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.