Plans revealed for new houses on South Downs National Park woodland

The Lodge Hill Charitable Trust wants to build five houses on a one and a half acre wood at Coldwaltham.

The trust, which runs the Lodge Hill outdoor activity centre, is seeking planning approval from the South Downs National Park Authority.

It says, that if planning consent is given, it plans to sell the land to a developer to raise funds for improvements to the Lodge Hill Education Centre.

The charity says it needs to raise money for its long-term future and aims to raise more than £1 million from the housing scheme for maintenance and repairs to Lodge Hill.

It was originally planned to build 16 houses on the woodland site, but the plans have been scaled back to five houses.

In documents submitted to the South Downs National Park Authority, the trust says there is an increased demand for facilities at Lodge Hill.

It has already been given planning permission to extend an orangery to help meet that demand which is estimated to cost around £750,000.