The principle of "rural exception" allows for the building of affordable homes in Sussex; however, as Michael Brown writes, it's open to abuse. 

Update report for Mid Sussex District as at end August 2019

More homes, but not enough!

Driving around Mid Sussex you might think that there was a lot of house building underway. And indeed there is....

Mid-Sussex updates, including latest from Burgess Hill, Mayfield Market Town, Hassocks, High Weald, Horsted Keynes and Gatwick.

Mid Sussex’s new District Plan is now operational.  This update looks at the early stages of its implementation. There have been some early and interesting decisions. 

CPRE Sussex has been actively involved at all stages of the development of a new minerals plan for West Sussex being that is in the course of preparation as a joint exercise between West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA).  Our participation has been important because of the extent to which mineral reserves within the county underlie specially designated areas of our countryside, including the South Downs National Park and the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). 

The new strategic plan will run from 2018 - 2033, and will identify sites that are being used or that need protecting from alternative development fora range of hard minerals.  It will also identify the planning criteria that will determine the authorities' approach to applications to explore for and exploit subterranean oil and gas deposits within the Plan area.

The principal focus of our work in Mid Sussex has continued to relate to the new draft District Plan, the details of which we reported in our July update and by letter to all CPRE members living in Mid Sussex.  It is a draft Plan which intends to require new homes to be built at a rate of 876 dwellings p.a., a rate which the District has never consistently achieved before, and it is set to rise still further (to 1,090 dpa) from 2024.   The challenge of finding sustainable locations for this massive hike in new building without ruining the prized rural character of Mid Sussex is going to be a formidable one.  It will put huge pressure on the District Council (MSDC) to give proper weight to the environmental and countryside protections that planning rules purport to offer when assessing site allocations and planning applications.  The role of CPRE has never been more important.

Mid Sussex's new District Plan has at last got through its public examination phase and taken a significant step forward towards implementation.  CPRE Sussex took an active part throughout the 9 months of the public examination period, pressing the case for a more appropriate balance to be drawn between the drive for new housing and the District’s special environmental and landscape character. We found ourselves fighting not only the developers but sadly also the Council.

The public examination of the draft District Plan prepared by Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) rumbles on with a further two days of hearings on housing-related matters convened for late July.