Latest Ringmer housing development for 68 homes refused

Revised plans for 68 Ringmer homes have been turned down again, much to the delight of residents.
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An outline application for up to 97 homes at Rangers Farm, south of Lewes Road and Laughton Road, was refused by Lewes District Council back in December.

Developers came back with a smaller scheme for up to 68 units, with no building on the southernmost field and the removal of a community hub.

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Last year’s application was refused due to landscape impact and insufficient information about highways capacity.

Illustrative layout of the proposed Ringmer homesIllustrative layout of the proposed Ringmer homes
Illustrative layout of the proposed Ringmer homes

Even with more information, the council’s planning applications committee refused the homes at a meeting in King’s Church on Wednesday (April 27) prompting wild applause from the public gallery.

Officers had recommended the plans be approved, but they have proved to be hugely unpopular in the parish with at least 135 separate objections received from residents.

John Whitlock, chairman of Ringmer Parish Council’s planning committee, called it the ‘wrong development in the wrong place’ and yet another example of a commuter housing estate unsustainably located in the countryside unaligned with any local employment opportunities.

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He and many others pointed out how future occupiers would be car dependent and also highlighted the existing strain on the parish’s infrastructure, from places at schools and doctors, to the road network.

Objectors also felt no new major developments should be allowed before the full impact of homes at Bishops Lane and Anchor Field is known.

There were also concerns about Southern Water’s ability to stop sewage being discharged into Glynde Reach.

Two of Ringmer’s district councillors also spoke against the application at the meeting.

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Emily O’Brien argued the application was contrary to both the Lewes local plan and Ringmer neighbourhood plan, with the site rejected by both, while Johnny Denis described how the homes would eat into the green gap between Broyleside and Ringmer village.

But Sarah Sheath, speaking for the applicant, believed the two reasons for refusing the last set of plans had been addressed.

She went on to argue the site was ‘extremely well contained’ and a ‘natural’ extension to Broyleside with an acceptable impact on the landscape and character of the area.

But the majority of the councillors disagreed and the plans were refused by five votes to three.

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Tom Jones (Con, Ditchling and Westmeston) felt the committee was ‘scrabbling around to find good reasons why we can’t accept it’.

But Sharon Davy (Con, Chailey Barcombe and Hamsey) felt there was a ‘tide of change’ coming where development would be much more concentrated on towns and cities to ‘relieve pressure on our greenfields’.