Two flats can go above the former Santander at 4 High Street, Crowborough, despite the town council's objection. The ground floor stays a shop unit.
The empty Santander bank at 4 High Street, Crowborough, can have two flats built on its upper floors. Wealden District Council ruled on 14 September that the change needs no further approval.
The ground floor will stay in commercial use. The first and second floors, which the bank used as ancillary space, become one flat each. (Wealden planning register, WD/2026/0684/P25)
Crowborough Town Council had recommended refusal. Wealden’s officers said most of its objections were not matters they were allowed to weigh.
Why the council could not say no in principle
The owner used a permitted development right, known as Class G. It lets a building in commercial use keep its ground floor as a business and turn the space above into up to two flats.
Under this route the council cannot refuse the idea itself. It can only check a fixed list of things. The officer’s report worked through each one:
- Contamination: no risk found. Asbestos is left to separate health and safety law.
- Flooding: the site is in Flood Zone 1, the lowest risk.
- Noise from the shop below: acceptable, subject to two conditions (below).
- Natural light: every habitable room has an existing window.
- Bins: refuse and recycling storage goes in the rear courtyard.
The report describes the building as three storeys, “most recently occupied as a bank” and now vacant. It sits inside the Crowborough Conservation Area. No residents commented after site notices went up.
What will be built
The approved plans show two flats, each with two bedrooms:
| Floor | Total area | |
|---|---|---|
| Flat A | First floor | 65.61 square metres |
| Flat B | Second floor | 85.13 square metres |
Flat B’s rooms are lit by the existing dormer and high-level windows. A shared hall and staircase serve both flats. (proposed first floor plan, proposed second floor plan)
Two conditions are attached to the decision:
- Nine air conditioning units on the back of the building, and their roof vents, must be removed before anyone moves in.
- The floor between the shop and Flat A must beat the Building Regulations standard for airborne sound by 5 decibels. Details must be approved before it is built.
Both came from Wealden’s environmental health team. It counted ten units at the rear, and said the one left on the neighbouring premises would not harm the new flats. (decision notice, environmental health response, 20 July 2026)
What the town council objected to
Crowborough Town Council recommended refusal on 2 June. It said it had “no objection in principle to the conversion”. Its concerns were:
- no Design and Access Statement was submitted
- no clear plan for car parking
- no clear plan for cycle parking
- the proposal “does nothing to restore the building to an appearance more in keeping with the Conservation Area”
(Town council comments, 2 June 2026)
The plans were changed after that. The final site plan shows a communal cycle store for up to four bikes. The owner confirmed the existing parking space at the back will go to the second-floor flat.
East Sussex Highways did not object. In June it said having no parking was “far from ideal” but could not justify an objection, given the bus links. By July it was asking for conditions on parking space size and cycle storage. (Highways response, 9 June, Highways response, 13 July)
Wealden did not impose them. Its officer said transport and parking “are not matters which fall to be assessed” under Class G. (officer’s report)
On the town council’s point about looks, the decision does not allow any change to the outside. Any external alteration that materially affects the building’s appearance would need full planning permission.
One more hurdle before work starts
The building is within 7km of the Ashdown Forest, which is protected for its heathland birds. The decision notice says work must not begin until the developer has written approval under the Habitats Regulations. That can come from Wealden, after consulting Natural England, or from Natural England directly.
The officer’s report notes that “neither process has occurred prior to this submission”. So no date for building work has been set in the public record.
When the bank closed
Santander shut the Crowborough branch at 3pm on 23 July 2025. It was one of 95 closures on the bank’s published list. (Santander UK branch changes list)
The bank’s leaflet for Crowborough gave its reasons. From July to December 2024, 76% of the branch’s customers had also used online, mobile or telephone banking. It said 63 personal customers had transacted three or more times and used only this branch. (Santander, “Understanding why your branch is closing”)
LINK, which checks cash access when a branch closes, recommended no new services. Its March 2025 assessment still counted “a bank branch” among the town’s remaining facilities. (LINK assessment, Santander Crowborough, 19 March 2025)
That branch was Lloyds at The Regent. LINK assessed Crowborough again on 11 February 2026, because Lloyds was scheduled to close on 9 June 2026. This time the facilities list included no bank branch. (LINK assessment, Lloyds Crowborough, 11 February 2026)
What it means for you
If you banked at either branch, LINK’s February assessment lists what it found nearby:
- Post Offices: Croft Road (0.09 miles from the centre, as LINK measures it) and Green Lane (0.8 miles).
- Free cash machines: two outside Morrisons on Pine Grove, and one inside Waitrose on Croft Road.
- Nearest branches: Lloyds at 82 Mount Pleasant Road, Tunbridge Wells (6.6 miles, about 22 minutes and £3 by public transport), NatWest on the same road (6.7 miles), and Nationwide at 59 High Street, Uckfield (6.7 miles).
For the flats themselves, there is nothing left to comment on. The decision has been issued and only the applicant can appeal. If you live nearby and see external works start, check the register first: the prior approval does not cover changes to the outside.
For other decisions in town, see our Crowborough planning news. For where to leave the car in the centre, see parking in Crowborough.
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