Bid to build up to 120 East Sussex homes
Proposals for a major housing development near Stone Cross are set to go in front of Wealden councillors.
On Thursday (February 26), Wealden District Council’s Majors Planning Committee is due to consider an application seeking outline permission to build up to 120 homes at the Sharnfold Farm site in Hailsham Road.
The application, submitted by Hop Farm Real Estate Limited, is being recommended for approval by council officers.
In a report to the committee, a council planning spokesman said: “The site is outside any defined development boundary but forms part of a wider landholding that has been assessed through the Council’s Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) and is identified in the emerging Regulation 18 Local Plan as a potential for housing allocation.
“The principle of residential development on part of the site has already been established through the grant of planning permission at appeal for 31 dwellings (WD/2020/2047/MAO).
“That consent together with the site’s identification within the emerging local plan and council’s significant shortfall in five-year housing land supply, are material considerations of substantial weight.”
The spokesman added: “For the reasons set out in the report below, officers consider that the adverse impacts of the development do not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies of the framework taken as a whole.”
According to the report, the applicant had initially sought permission to build up to 149 homes on the site, but this figure was amended down following discussions between the council and developer.
Officers say the previously-approved scheme (allowed at appeal after being rejected by Wealden councillors) would form part of the wider proposals. They say the layout of these homes has been “adjusted to provide a more coherent scheme”.
The report says the council has undertaken “extensive” consultation with a number of other responsible authorities, including East Sussex County Council’s highways department.
According to the report, the highways department has acknowledged the site to be “less than ideal in accessibility terms”, but ultimately believes that any impact could be successfully mitigated. Part of these mitigations would be secured through conditions and a legal agreement securing the site access, pedestrian improvements, bus stop provision, public right-of-way upgrades and sustainable travel measures, the report notes.
Westham Parish Council has raised objections. It has concerns about the site’s proposed access, which it describes as “a dangerous double bend with restricted sightlines [and] where the speed limit changes”.
Other concerns raised by the parish council include the potential ecological, character and infrastructure impact of the scheme.
The council received 17 individual objections to the proposals.