Heacham South Beach 'eyesore' refused planning permission

Silver Sands Beach Club erected the elevated seating area structure next to its premises at the North Beach at Heacham.

Villagers objected after it applied to West Norfolk Council for retrospective planning permission.

The structure which has been erected at Silver Sands (Image: Chris Bishop)

Jan Whitehead posted on the authority's planning portal: "The towering, ugly metal scaffolding erected around the Silver Sands pub that now confronts you as you drive onto the beach road is completely out of character with the iconic wooden beach houses and huts, or the low-level caravan park.

"This metal monstrosity detracts from the natural beauty of the beach and protected marshland nearby. It will further deter the visitors that Heacham's economy relies on."

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Ian Evans said: "This raised platform is more representative of an industrial site, such as an oil refinery or a chemical works.

"It has a dominating and overbearing appearance and will be detrimental to the area."

Silver Sands seen last year before the structure was erected (Image: Google)

And William Freeman added: "This construction is an eyesore and not in keeping with the local landscape."

West Norfolk Council has refused the planning application and is now in talks with the club over the removal of the structure.

Its decision notice said: "The structure is considered to be visually incongruous and out of keeping with the rural, coastal locality which is characterised with generally low-rise structures.

"The development appears very industrial in design and materials are poor with no particular relation to the surrounding area.

"The structure is out of scale with the locality it finds itself in and the lack of handrail to the stairs and poor safety as well as the overall relationship with the site further compounds this unacceptable impact."