New vision for Bexhill

Four farms would go under the scheme to create 48,000 sq. metres of job-creating business space and 1,100 new homes.

The Masterplan acknowledges Highways Agency concerns that already-overcrowded local roads would be unable to cope with the impact of the development but offers no solutions.

The business park would be north east of Sidley, bounded by Watermill Lane and the St James' area and include Glovers Farm, Preston Hall Farm and Oaktree Farm.

The housing development would extend eastwards from this, taking in Upper Worsham Farm and extending along Wrestwood Road and Pebsham Lane almost as far as Southern Water's Pebsham treatment works.

The proposed Pebsham Countryside Park would be to the east of the development.

The developments would be bisected by the proposal Bexhill-Hastings Link Road. This is proposed to run along the course of the old Bexhill West-Crowhurst rail line as far as Glovers Farm then curve north and east across the Combe Haven valley to connect with Queensway at St Leonards.

The 1985 Bexhill Local Plan identified Worsham for a new community with a 3,600 population.

The 1991 Structure Plan proposed a "flagship" business park north of Bexhill.

The Masterplan says: "New housing is expected to primarily serve a local market. It also offers the potential to attract in-movers from a wider area by virtue of its scale, location and range of housing, as well as by the new job opportunities being provided on adjoining land."

The plan says that "....in line with the economic strategy for Bexhill, there is a desire to curb the drift of younger people who currently move away from the area, both to re-balance the demographic profile by being more socially inclusive and to contribute to the future economic 'health' of the area."

Between 35 and 40% of the homes would be three-bedroom with 20-25% two-bedroom and 25-30% four-bedroom.

Sixty percent would be open-market with 20% social rented and 20% shared ownership.

"Early development of community facilities such as meeting places, school, nursery, shops and play spaces, will help engender a communal spirit and identity," says the plan.

It is expected that there would be a new one-form entry primary school with future provision for two-form entry plus a nursery, youth centre, church and Scouts/Guides meeting hall.

"The Primary Care Trust has advised that the new doctors' surgery at Pebsham will be capable of accommodating increased local need arising from the new housing in the east, while a replacement surgery at Sidley is due to be completed in 2008."

Access to the business park would be from the Link Road.

A arterial"High Street" would lead through the housing development and join Wrestwood Road just to the west of St Mary's School.

The plan does not spell out what form of junction would be created.

The plan says: "Fundamentally, the council must be confident that traffic generated by the development can be accommodated on the highway network.

"At present this is clearly not the case.

"The Highways Agency advises that the level of congestion on the A259 at Glyne Gap roundabout and its approaches is such that any significant increase would be unacceptable.

"Similarly, there are capacity issues at a number of junctions on local roads, which would be compounded by the development, most notably the A269 London Road/A2035 Wrestwood Road junction.

"A strategic transport assessment has been undertaken to quantify the likely traffic congestion, to identify any off-site junction improvements that would be required to accommodate it, to assess any potential for development in advance of the Link Road and to recommend on the transport framework for pedestrians, cyclists, buses, commercial vehicles and cars."

The plan calls for "bus penetration" into both areas and says development should support "much-improved" bus services, including a service along the Link Road from town centre to Hastings and into Pebsham.

It says the arterial road from the Link Road down through the development to Wrestwood Road should take on a High Street character, providing a mix of residential and commercial uses.

It says a new pub to serve the development could provide a social hub.

The plan sees the Link Road created "in the form of a wide, tree-lined 'country avenue.'"

Levetts Wood at Sidley and other wooded areas would be retained to form "key nodes on the green space network."

Existing tree belts would provide "informal amenity space" for the commercial development, complemented by new green links to a series of connected spaces and corridors.

The North East Bexhill Development Group comprises Rother, the county council, the Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAS), regeneration agency Seaspace, English Nature, Southern Water, the Environment Agency, farmers and landowners including Trinity College, Tiger Investments, Hillreed Developments and Sidley Community Association.

Observer Comment, page 6.