A council has been urged to reject plans for new homes in the city centre, amid fears they could ‘decimate’ the privacy of people with mental health problems.
Community pub Revival Food and Mood – which acts as a support hub for the vulnerable – says proposals for an adjacent site on Whitstable High Street would take away “safe space”.
But developers have defended the plan, which would see two flats built above the Crew Clothing store and an abandoned warehouse at the rear converted into a house.
Revival director Deborah Haylett claims the new homes will block light from the charity cafe’s sunny patio garden, which is used by many mental health groups.
“It will really overwhelm us,” she says.
“We have vulnerable people using this area to share their lives, and now they will be directly tapped; it’s really unacceptable.
“They will feel like they are in the spotlight. It is no longer that private space when something big overshadows the space.
“We will lose the light and sunshine from this area, which has been so important to the growth of our pantry and the growth of the friendships and well-being of people in space.
“It was wonderful to see the number of objections to the application – so many people have so much appreciation for and appreciate what we do at Revival.”
With the application having attracted around 60 objections since April, Ms Haylett says the community has taken a stand saying “this is not right”.
Founded over a year ago as part of East Kent Mind, Revival helps provide support to as many users as possible through a wide range of groups.
Bloom in particular thrives on it because he can grow food for the cafe’s kitchen in the adjacent courtyard.
In a letter of objection to Canterbury City Council (CCC), Dr David Palmer, CEO of East Kent Mind, claims the developer’s plans are based on “greed” rather than providing “suitable and sustainable housing”.
He argued that the new building will “decimate” Revival’s privacy, writing: “The proposed buildings will directly overlook both our ground floor patio seating area and our first floor seating area.
“These areas are used for visitors and service users, many of whom are vulnerable and suffering from their mental health.
“Our outdoor space is used for our support groups where participants share personal and private information with their support group; if they are immediately overlooked and tapped, their right to privacy will be decimated.”
Whitstable resident Kay Ashe, 68, who uses Revival, told KentOnline that the development would come at the expense of services offered by the charity.
She said: “It’s lovely here. You can see how much work has gone into making this a very happy, thriving, growing space, and it will be completely overshadowed by something that isn’t needed.
“The loss of sunshine in this area would be a great shame, and it would be very sad if there was only a blank wall staring back at us.”
But the design and access statement from Greenwich-based KHD Architects says the proposal “aims to enhance the urban strategy along the Center Wall” by providing a new one-bedroom house “to replace the derelict warehouse which has fallen into disrepair ”.
“The proposal adopts features from the local vernacular and implements them in a thoughtful and modern design,” it said.
“It has been designed to have minimal impact on the appearance of the building, with extensions and changes mainly to the rear.
“Although the orientation of the site presents challenges in terms of sunlight and daylight, the proposals seek to provide good views to every home through intelligent design.”
KHD says the proposed black timber cladding will reflect the material of some surrounding buildings, particularly neighboring properties.
“Black clay tiles are common in the area, but also complement the wooden cladding to achieve harmony within the traditional use of materials,” the architects added.
CCC planning chiefs are expected to make a decision on the plans later this year.