"End in sight" for Talland Parade scaffolding as owners to be taken to court

As part of a complex legal process and on the advice of a barrister, the council is taking the owners to the High Court for common law public nuisance, to seek a final injunction that would result in a court order requiring the scaffolding to be removed without delay.

Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes, said: "I have been calling for this kind of enforcement action for years and I am glad that Lewes District Council is finally listening to residents and are taking the owner to court to have the scaffolding removed which has had such a negative effect on the town and the traders that have been severely impacted since the scaffolding was put in place.”

The scaffolding at Talland Parade has been in Seaford for over six years and the council said it has exhausted every other possible legal avenue in their determination to rid of the scaffolding, but every attempt to date has been blocked by ‘legislative loopholes’ and ‘hollow promises’.

It is considered that given the unreasonable duration of the development works at Talland Parade and the adverse impact on Seaford residents and others, that the council now has a good case.

Councillor Stephen Gauntlett, cabinet member for Planning, said: “We have never stopped working with our solicitors and a specialist barrister to find a way through the courts to remove this eyesore and while nothing is guaranteed, I now have hope that the end is in sight.

“I must thank the community champions at Seaford Residents’ Voice for providing evidence showing that despite hollow promises to the contrary from the owners of Talland Parade, work was never underway in any meaningful degree on the site – they, along with Seaford Town Council, have played an invaluable role.”

In 2020, an online petition was started by Lindsay Freeman to take down the scaffolding, which was described as ‘dangerous’ to residents in high winds and had forced several shops to close down.

Lindsay also wrote that people with mobility aids and buggies were prevented from from using the pavement and were forced to use the road.

If the High Court agrees with Lewes District Council that the scaffolding represents a public nuisance, the owners will be required to remove the scaffolding.

The council will also seek a reserve power to get the scaffolding removed using its own contractor if the owners do not comply with any order made by the High Court.

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Councillor James MacCleary, Leader of Lewes District Council, said: "The government must close the legislative loopholes that developers take advantage of at the expense of local people and businesses.

"Seaford residents and retailers are the innocent victims in this and it is shameful that the owners have been prepared to prolong this saga for so long.”

Lewes District Council said it has also been liaising closely with East Sussex County Council, and they have now decided to not renew the scaffolding licence that is required for a structure of this type.