District News
CPRE Sussex attended and spoke at the Examination in Public (EiP) of the new Arun Local Plan in September 2017. We expressed concerns about the lack of consultation, the level of housing proposed and the impact this would have on the local environment and the lack of a coherent strategy for ensuring that infrastructure is put in place at the right time to accommodate this development.
The year 2016 closed with housing developers taking full advantage of Wealden District Council’s perceived lack of 5 year housing land supply. Virtually weekly during 2016, green fields (including within High Weald AONB) were being lost to speculative housing developer applications. CPRE and SWOT (Save Wealden from Overdevelopment Team) were kept busy trying to fend off these applications with robust objections and by attending the Council’s Planning Meetings. However, the Planning Meeting Councillors were often instructed not to object to an application by a developer in case the refusal of the application put the Council into ‘Cost Territory’ should a developer appeal be then forthcoming.
Rother suffers as a planning authority from a permanent malaise – that of being always behind the curve. Yes, it produced a core strategy back in 2014 with what is for the South East a relatively modest housing requirement, but according to the latest planning agendas is down to providing only a 3.1 year housing supply. I do not really want to blame the Council because it is house builders who are not building out permissions granted, but the recent reaction to this supposed crisis is for Rother planners to recommend granting any application that comes in the High Weald AONB, no matter that most of the sites up for approval were categorised by the self-same Rother officers three years ago in their SHLAA as red (i.e. not suitable for whatever reasons to be developed) sites.
Letter: the hocus pocus of housing target maths
Written by Roger F SmithLetter published by the West Sussex County Times 2 November 2017
Letter: the hocus pocus of housing target maths
Written by Roger F SmithLetter published by the West Sussex County Times 2 November 2017
No justification for drilling for oil at Broadford Bridge
Written by Roger F SmithLetter published by the West Sussex Gazette, 25 September 2017
