Decisions delayed on East Hoathly, Horsebridge and Horam housing developments

On Thursday (August 11), Wealden District Council’s Planning Committee North unanimously deferred discussion on three applications: plans to build 205 new homes on the Hesmonds Stud Farm site in East Hoathly; up to 28 dwellings in Horsebridge; and up to 24 new homes in Horam.

The deferrals were connected to a full council motion unanimously passed by Wealden councillors last month, which (among other things) called on Southern Water to provide more information on the impact of new housing on its sewage network.

Setting out the committee’s position at the start of the meeting, chairman Susan Stedman (Con) said: “[Southern Water’s] response to officers’ enquiries is insufficient.

“They have not addressed our concerns nor fully answered our questions. Officers and members of this council have a further meeting with them in September, when those details and other issues will be deliberated.

“I therefore propose, for the sake of consistency, that [those applications] are deferred on a without prejudice basis until the council and particularly members of this committee have the full response before them.”

While the applications were deferred without full discussion, the committees heard from public speakers, ward councillors and developers’ representatives before adjourning the items.

Among these speakers — whose comments will form part of the later discussions — there were some who criticised the committee’s decision to defer.

They included Mark Best of Parker Dann, a planning agent representing both the developers of the Horsebridge and Horam schemes. He said: “What do you think is going to happen if I walk back there, we walk out of this room and the applicant says we are going to appeal. I’m going to do it. I know how the story ends, you must know how the story ends. Come on.

“This is just so frustrating, that you are delaying much-needed development for frankly no reason at all. Who is it that this is serving? There is about 120,000 Wealden residents taxpaying, there are 30 people sat here.

“Does it really benefit the majority of Wealden residents for an applicant to go to appeal taking up officer time and running the risk of costs. It is just not sensible.”

A report on the Hesmonds Stud scheme provided some further detail on the sort of information requested of Southern Water.

According to the report, planning officers had asked the water company to provide information on: which treatment works the site would be connected to; whether that facility had experienced any operational issues; whether it would have the capacity to deal with more connections; and whether such an assessment would take into account other housing developments in the area.

In a response quoted in the report, Southern Water said it could not definitively confirm which treatment works the site would be connected to as this would be subject to detailed discussions that come after planning permission is granted.

The company also said the capacity of its treatment works should not be a basis for withholding planning permission as it is its responsibility to “respond to confirmed growth and invest in our assets accordingly.”

It went on to say that much of the other details could be obtained through a request for information under the Environment Information Regulations (EIR).

These responses were considered to be unacceptable by the committee, which unanimously deferred the applications until further discussions could take place. The items are expected to return to the committee’s next meeting in late September.

The decision was welcomed by council leader Ann Newton. In a statement released after the meeting, she said: “Southern Water has clearly not taken on board the feeling of the council, representing residents in Wealden.

“Our cross-party proposal made it quite clear and I call upon the water authority to act with alacrity. We will not simply gloss over vital issues such as sewage flooding.”

What did the council approve in July?

On Wednesday (July 20), Wealden District Council unanimously passed a cross-party motion, initially tabled by Green Party councillor Rachel Millward, setting out a range of proposals connected to the impact of sewage overflows on the local environment.

Among other things, it will see the council call on Southern Water to provide further details about its network when it is consulted on planning applications. This, the motion said, should include details of which treatment works will be managing the sewage from new housing.

It also called on council officers to examine and report on the impact new development may have on sewage discharges when assessing planning applications as well as to build an evidence base which could factor into future local plans.

Cllr Millward said: “Our current planning process does not allow proper consideration of cumulative sewage discharge into our precious waterways and so it must be updated. At the moment we ask Southern Water if they are able to supply the network. They are legally obliged to supply the network, so of course they say ‘yes, yes, pipes can be fitted’.

“But if the sewage treatment work that would serve that development is already spilling hundreds of hours of raw sewage into the river, adding waste from more homes would clearly only increase the levels of discharge creating more damage and destruction.”

Cllr Newton added: “We do need to take control over this. We owe it actually to the generations going forward. We should be and are a civilised country and it doesn’t seem right that we are just pumping, willy-nilly, raw sewage into our streams and our sea.”