Lewes District Council leader criticises government’s proposed ‘sledgehammer’ changes to calculating housing targets

The District Council said councillor Zoe Nicholson has ‘joined the chorus of disapproval’ as Cabinet is set to consider the latest consultation on the Local Plan.

The council said the first phase of this consultation will look at sites within towns and a limited number of villages. The second phase is set to look at more rural parts of the district while re-evaluating areas considered in phase one.

Councillor Nicholson said: “Angela Rayner has managed to unite all parties, including her own, against the government’s reforms.

“Council leaders and councillors of every political colour have appealed to her to pause and rethink this imposition of totally unrealistic housing targets. Putting aside the disruption and uncertainty these proposals have for the extensive work already completed on our local plan, the reforms fail to acknowledge the multiple factors that are beyond our control, such as a national park cutting though the middle of our planning area or developers sitting idle on existing permissions for development.

“The Secretary of State is wielding a sledgehammer to solve the housing crisis, instead of working collaboratively with councils to understand how to achieve the new housing our residents need, particularly in areas such as ours where we are severely constrained by the English Channel, South Downs National Park and rural villages lacking adequate infrastructure.”

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The local plan aims to set out where future development – which includes new homes, schools and transport infrastructure – will take place, as well local policy requirements that future planning applications need to be judged against.

Lewes District Council said a ‘considerable amount of feedback’ from earlier council consultations has helped shape the latest version of the plan. The council said more than 50,000 comments have been received from residents and local groups in the previous two rounds of public consultation, alongside engagement with external stakeholders and neighbouring authorities.

Councillor Laurence O’Connor, Cabinet Member for Planning, said: “Various considerations, including the government’s proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, mean that we are undertaking a two-phased consultation. The first phase will largely focus, but not exclusively, on potential sites in towns within the plan area, while the second phase will look at more rural locations, such as greenfield areas in and around villages.

“There are some great ideas for the future provision of much needed homes, many of which need to be affordable homes or council housing. Building strong communities is central to how we are looking at the creation of the Local Plan and this thinking has had a heavy influence on the upcoming consultation process.”

The Cabinet meeting is set for Thursday, December 5, and people can view it online at www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk.