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The Local Plan, site HS25

HS25: Former Convent of Holy Child Jesus, Magdalen Road

Central St Leonards ward. From Appendix 1 Draft Local Plan - Pre Submission (Regulation 19) September 2026 ↗, Full Council, Wed 23 Sep 2026.

For
Residential-led Heritage regeneration
Indicative Capacity
200 dwellings
Site area
4.76 hectares
Magdalen RoadFormer Convent of Holy Child Jesus, Magdalen Road (about 200 homes)
Placed at Magdalen Road, the street its name gives, where OpenStreetMap puts it. The site's exact boundary is on the council's Policies Map ↗.

What the plan says about it

This 4.76ha former Convent is a nationally important heritage site. It contains a unique collection of Grade II listed buildings and a Grade II* listed chapel, in an enclosed landscaped setting. The Convent complex is situated in a clifftop location and as a result there is a high degree of visibility from within the site to other parts of the Borough, out to sea, and corresponding townscape views from other parts of the Borough towards the site. The site sits within the Magdalen Road conservation area.

This is a complex site, and a Masterplan and Development Brief is needed to understand and identify the quantum and form of any new development required to secure the future of the listed buildings and to deliver a viable and sustainable scheme for the site as a whole in terms of its heritage value. The council has worked with Historic England and the current site owners to develop a Masterplan and Development Brief for the site, located at Annex 1.

The rest of the plan's explanation (6 more paragraphs)

The site has been vacant for a number of years and is in a deteriorating condition. A condition survey prepared in support of the Masterplan and Development Brief for the site identifies the need for significant repair and restoration of the buildings, as well as the need for their long-term management.

Development proposals for this site must secure the repair, restoration and long-term sustainable future of the Convent buildings. In addition, given the historic sensitivity of the site and its high visibility in the wider townscape, development proposals must be heritage led and based on a thorough understanding of the significance of the buildings and the surrounding landscape and any heritage features within it.

The site is allocated for a residential-led scheme with an indicative capacity of 200 dwellings, which includes conversion of some of the listed buildings together with new build development and would be subject to the approval of detailed designs at the application stage.

Owing to the complexities of the site, any planning application submitted must be a Full planning application and must align with the principles set out in the Masterplan and Development Brief. Any planning application submitted in outline, or which does not present a comprehensive proposal for the whole site, will not be supported.

Whilst the allocation is residential-led, consideration will be given to an alternative masterplan or development brief, provided it robustly demonstrates how it will secure the restoration and long-term reuse of the heritage assets, secure public benefits, and provide a comprehensive scheme for the regeneration of the whole site.

The Local Planning Authority will liaise closely with Historic England on any scheme submitted including the sharing with them of viability or financial assessments submitted to support development proposals.

What a planning application here would have to do

The Former Convent of the Holy Child Jesus site is allocated as a comprehensive heritage, landscape and residential-led regeneration scheme. Development must secure the repair, restoration, active re-use and long-term management of the Grade II* listed chapel, Grade II listed buildings, curtilage listed structures and protection of the Nuns’ Cemetery, a non-designated heritage asset.

The policy's conditions, in its own words:

  1. Any Development must be brought forward comprehensively across the entire site by way of a Full planning application and must align with the principles set out in the Masterplan and Development Brief at Annex 1. Outline or hybrid planning applications will not be supported
  2. Proposals must define the full extent of development from the outset, including heritage works, demolition, phasing, layout, scale, access, landscaping, viability, public benefits, long-term management and delivery mechanisms. These will be secured through a legal agreement or other enforceable mechanism
  3. Development must be supported by the following:
  4. Heritage Impact Assessment ii. Building Condition Survey iii. Conservation Management Plan iv. Schedule of repair and restoration works v. Phasing and delivery plan vi. Viability assessment demonstrating how development secures the heritage objectives vii. Landscape and visual impact assessment viii. Arboricultural assessment ix. Sustainable drainage strategy x. Access, movement and parking strategy xi. Long-term stewardship and management plan
  5. The Grade II* listed chapel shall be sensitively restored and brought back into use, the nature of which should be compatible with its significance, spatial qualities and setting. Any proposal should maximise opportunities for managed public access and heritage interpretation, where this aligns with its proposed operation and long- term use
  6. Any proposal for conversion and reuse of the Grade II listed buildings, which may include residential, cultural, community, educational, workspace, later living or other appropriate uses, must ensure that their significance is conserved and enhanced and that their long-term use and public benefit is secured
  7. The repair, restoration and reuse of the listed buildings must be secured as early as possible in the development process. The occupation and/or completion of new-build residential development must be linked to the completion of agreed heritage works, via the use of planning condition, legal agreement or other enforceable mechanism
  8. The Nuns’ Cemetery, which has been identified as a non-designated heritage asset, must be protected as a respectful landscape feature. The cemetery and any land with potential for burials, including unmarked lay burials, must be protected from development and disturbance wherever practicable. The Historic Environment Record should be consulted and archaeological field investigations carried out where appropriate, in accordance with an approved Written Scheme of Investigation
  9. Clear justification must be provided for the layout, form, scale and massing of development and how this relates to the heritage significance of the site, including its setting, topography, viability and the requirement to secure the restoration and long-term conservation of the heritage assets
  10. Any proposals must preserve and where possible enhance the character and appearance of the Magdalen Road Conservation Area, including protecting the setting of any designated, or non-designated, heritage assets affected by the proposals
  11. Development must be of a high-quality design and layout, be locally distinctive, and use contextual materials and forms which respond positively to the site’s historic, townscape and landscape context
  12. The overall scheme must provide a connected landscape, comprising restored historic gardens, ecological enhancements, gardens, sustainable drainage, play provision, open space and safe and legible pedestrian and cycle links to adjoining areas
  13. Landscape features, mature trees and existing boundary planting must be retained where practicable. Where any of these features are negatively impacted, clear justification must be provided, setting out how such impacts are to be minimised, mitigated and compensated for, as part of the overall landscape strategy; m. The proposal is accompanied by appropriate environmental assessments that take into account its location within the ACIB with mapped measures for improvement
  14. Development proposals must respond to the three character areas identified in the Masterplan and Development Brief as follows: Northern Area i. Landscape-led residential development arranged around gardens, prioritising pedestrian routes and communal spaces. Layout, massing, scale and grain must align with that of the adjacent Magdalen Rd and must respond to site topography, retain existing mature trees and preserve the Nuns’ Cemetery Central Area ii. Prioritisation must be given to the repair, conservation and adaptive re-use of the Grade II* listed chapel, the Grade II listed Former Convent buildings and gardens. Any new development must preserve and enhance the character and coherence as a former convent complex, maintaining important views, garden settings and relationships with the chapel. Southern Lawn iii. Development must be peripheral and must retain and enhance the role of the lawn, a significant open landscape space that is essential to the setting, significance and legibility of the convent complex. Key views to the Training College and Grade II* listed chapel must be protected and any new buildings must be subordinate to the heritage assets and landscape setting.
  15. Any proposal which would prejudice the comprehensive delivery of the site as a whole, including the restoration and reuse of the listed buildings, the long-term management of the site, or the delivery of public benefits, will not be supported.

What people said in the spring

In the spring 2026 consultation on the draft plan (called Regulation 18), 53 comments were made on this site: 23 objections, 5 in support and 25 other comments. In the spring draft it was Regeneration Area Policy 2 (R2).

The issues people raised, as the council's report sums them up:

What the council did in response: Policy deleted and replaced with site allocation policy HS25.

How to comment

The council hasn't opened the six weeks for comments yet, as far as we can see. When it does, the dates and how to respond will be on our Local Plan page and on the council's own ↗.

At this stage a comment is about whether the plan is legally compliant and sound. What that means.

Other council papers that mention it

Read from the plan ↗ and the spring consultation report ↗ with fixed rules; no language model is involved. The plan's own text is what counts.