Rival bid to controversial homes plan

A RIVAL bid to the develop the North Street industrial area of Lewes has been unveiled.

Unlike the controversial Phoenix Quarter development, proposed by developer Charles Style of Angel Property, it is not for profit and proposes a ban on building homes on the flood plain.

Lewes Community Land Trust has spent almost a year working on the proposals for North Street, the Phoenix Industrial Estate and Wenban Smith site.

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The plans feature a media and technology innovation centre centre, which could include a cinema. There would be fewer flats and houses than the 775 envisaged by Charles Style.

John Stockdale, chairman Lewes Community Land Trust , said: 'Rather than clearing the land and building a development all at once, there is an opportunity to do as much or as little as we want, and won't be left with a huge 150 million housing development.

'We don't know the effects of climate change and if, in the worst-case scenario, the sea level rises by five metres in the next 100 years, we will not have wasted 150 million building houses on flood plains.'

Other ideas include a riverside walkway from Cliffe High Street to Wiley's Bridge with cafes and a pub.

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Mr Stockdale said the current businesses in North Street could stay in the area rather than being replaced by housing.

The land trust has been in talks with Lewes District Council and will now consult with local individuals and organisations, including Lewes Chamber of Commerce and the Friends of Lewes.

The Trust is in the process of setting up a charitable company to promote and fund the development and hopes to put together a planning application.

Mr Stockdale said: 'We are not just a few blokes in a pub scribbling ideas on the back of a cigarette packet, our group includes people professionally qualified in this area who have already put in a lot of hard work.

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'Our proposals make full use of the river front, regenerate the blighted Phoenix industrial estate and use brownfield land in the flood plain for business, leisure and retail, locating much-needed homes where flooding is not a constant peril and where families can live in safety.

'We will be ploughing our profits back into development to create more affordable housing and buildings and spaces for long term community interests rather than short term financial gain.'

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