Congestion fears over homes

The meeting held at Framfield Village Hall and called by the parish council to discuss the Wealden draft Local Plan attracted speakers from Framfield, Blackboys and Uck-field, particularly those living in Fram-field Road, Selby Road and Bird-in-Eye Hill.

People were scathing about claims that the already congested Framfield Road could be improved to allow traffic to flow freely to and from the new development.

They were also scathing about claims that the bulk of traffic from it would head into Uckfield rather than out on the winding road to Framfield.

Mr Nigel Drew, from Framfield, said the people living at Bird-in-Eye Hill 'would not be stupid'.

They would realise, that it would be far easier for them to access places like Eastbourne and Heathfield through Framfield rather than Uckfield.

Applause greeted Mr Drew's comment: 'There is terrible concern about traffic from two developments either side of the Framfield Road.

'There would be an extra 800 to 1,000 cars and the idea that Framfield Road in Uckfield could be improved and made more easily accessible is like living in cloud cuckoo land.'

Head of transport planning for the county council, Peter Hayward who later said he expected every home on the development to generate six car trips a day told the meeting that the district's draft plan did not include full details of improvements that would have to be made in Framfield Road.

But they would be on display at an exhibition at the Ashdown Room in the Civic Centre, Uckfield, on February 13, 14 and 15 and there would a public meeting in Uckfield on February 18 to discuss the plan. He urged people to go and make comments on what they saw.

At this stage it was thought that problems could be overcome. One of the things the highways department had done was carry out a survey in Framfield Road at night counting all the cars parked there and the county believed that by rationalising parking traffic could flow more freely.

But Mrs Helen Dowen of Selby Road pointed out that many Framfield Road residents parked in side roads like hers and they should also be taken into account.

There was also concern about the choice of site. Why Bird-in- Eye Hill, rather than Downlands Farm or land to the west of Uckfield?

Isolated

Mr Robert King, from Wealden Council, said that at Downlands Farm the topography and woodland isolated the site from the built-up area of Uckfield and it had a rural, tranquil character. The area out to the west was a pretty, rolling landscape and an important part of the setting of the town and any further development would intrude into the landscape.

The meeting asked for assurances that if the development went ahead it would not spill out of the 'bowl' and closer to Fram-field. But district policy and development manager Mr Mick Oldham said he could not give any assurances because pressure was already on for East Sussex to provide land for more development from 2011 to 2025.

But, he said, Wealden officers would not support development spreading into a whole new landscape.