PegasusLife have made their Planning Application for the Knowle. The reference, to be quoted in any correspondence, is 16/0872/MFUL. The return date for comments and objections at the moment is 15th June.

Save Our Sidmouth (SOS) has numerous comments on the proposal, which will be submitted to East Devon District Council (EDDC) in the near future, and published on this website, in advance of the due date, to enable you to comment if you so wish.

Foremost amongst SOS objections will be
— the excessive number of dwellings planned, (Currently 115, in contrast to 50 allocated in the Local Plan)
— insufficient parking for the residents, which will mean they are likely to use the remaining public car park
— building on the existing terraces
— use of inappropriate materials and finishes
— and, very importantly, the height and visual intrusiveness of the buildings, and the massing.
The buildings are high (e.g. building F is nearly 7m higher than the existing roof line) and will have a far greater visual impact than the present ones.

Present view of Knowle buildings as seen from across the Bickwell Valley:

An approximation with heights verified, of the west face of the Knowle Plateau using Pegasus’s drawings – as not supplied in their Townscape and Visual Impact Report. The rear buildings have been omitted here, in order to show a section of the existing Knowle building- for scale: