Plan for 1,450 homes near Mid Sussex village: new information and amended plans submitted, including Dormouse Mitigation Statement and flooding statement
A company has submitted additional information and amended plans to a planning application for 1,450 new homes between Ansty and Cuckfield.
Application DM/23/2866, which can be viewed at pa.midsussex.gov.uk/online-applications, included plans for up to 90 residential care units, a primary school and school for children with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as community buildings, a sports hub and shops.
New documents were uploaded on May 27 this year, including: a Flood Risk Sequential Testing report, a Transport Addendum, a Arboricultural Impact Assessment, an Energy & Sustainability Statement, a Dormouse Mitigation Statement and revisions to the Concept Masterplan, Access and Movement parameter plan, Green Infrastructure parameter plan and Building Heights parameter plan.
The Flood Risk Sequential Testing report said: “The site has a low flood risk, and proposals will result in no impact to the existing watercourse downstream.”
It said flood mitigation was included in proposals, adding that ‘no development is proposed in areas that will be at risk from fluvial flooding’. It also said an outline SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) strategy had been developed for the site in accordance with the requirements of the LLFA, Southern Water and West Sussex County Council. It said: “This includes the provision of swales and ponds to provide the attenuation required prior to off-site discharge at a controlled rate.”
It concluded: “The proposed mitigation measures demonstrate the development will be safe, and the proposals will not increase flood risk to third parties.”
The Dormouse Mitigation Statement was prepared by The Ecology Co-op environmental consultants who said its purpose is ‘to outline mitigation for hazel dormice, which were identified as present within the northern part of the site’.
This statement said: “The scheme layout has been designed to retain existing woodland habitat wherever possible. Where unavoidable losses of habitat occur, the proposed mitigation strategy combines extensive scrub and woodland planting in advance of clearance as immediate compensation, together with the protection and enhancement of retained suitable habitats throughout construction and post-development occupation.”
It said the risk of direct impacts on dormice had been reduced by pre-construction safeguarding measures and ‘considerate construction methods’. The mitigation statement also said dormice would be conserved and protected at the site through new habitat creation, establishing buffers to suitable dormouse habitat and the future management of hedgerows, woodland, and scrub habitat.
The documents follow many letters of objection submitted to the application, which include concerns about flooding and wildlife, pressure on infrastructure, schools and healthcare, as well as concerns about increased traffic and pollution.
One Cuckfield resident’s objection letter said: “This landscape is an important habitat to a variety of wildlife. The loss of trees and hedges will degrade the biodiversity, which will not be easily replaced.”
Another said: “The impact of developing and covering so much green space, which is a natural flood plain and has worked for centuries, is a major concern given climate change issues.”