Council agrees potential sale of Lewes development land
Lewes District Council leaders have agreed to the potential sale of land associated with a major regeneration site.
On July 16, its cabinet agreed to sell land which forms part of the North Street Quarter (NSQ) — a development site in Lewes with the potential for 685 homes, community facilities and flood defences.
The sale would be intended to bring the NSQ site into single-ownership, which the council considers to be a “pre-requisite” for the development to move ahead as it would open a route for Homes England funding.
Council leader Zoe Nicholson said: “North Street Quarter, as you all know, is the biggest brownfield site in the [South Downs] National Park. It has planning permission, subject to a section 106 agreement, already granted since 2024 for much-needed homes in this district, built on a brownfield and therefore not on a greenfield site.
“It also includes important flood defences for the town and critically the health hub, which has always been this council’s ambition — that the latter was provided as part of this development.
“The decision that we are taking today has really got nothing to do with the planning application as it stands; has got nothing to do with the pros and cons of the development as it stands.
“It is actually about trying to knit together the two sites to enable the developer and Homes England and the park to be able to fulfill its vision and ambition of utilising this site.”
Any sale of the land, known as Plot A, would be subject to terms and conditions, including a requirement for the property developer Human Nature to also buy back another part of the site, known as Plot B.
The council had bought this land earlier this year and there is a time-limited buyback option available to the developer.
Meeting papers say the council intends to achieve a “commercial price” in its sale of Plot A. A report notes the land has been the subject of an independent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Red Book valuation.
They add the re-purchase price for Plot B must cover the council’s holding costs, including interest at a commercial rate.