Following last autumn’s major consultation about the Wealden Local Plan involving responses from over 400 people and organisations, Wealden District Council will be carrying out further work and studies before publishing the Proposed Submission documents and making its recommendation to the Planning Inspector.—Wealden District Council, 28 April 2016
Wealden’s Portfolio Holder for Planning and Development, Councillor Ann Newton, has been given a mandate to “robustly raise” a number of concerns about the Local Plan process with the Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, Greg Clark.
These include the significant amount of additional houses Wealden is expected to deliver, how the required infrastructure will be funded, and the way the current rules leave the Council vulnerable to speculative planning applications from developers whilst the Local Plan is reviewed.
“Given the significant number of houses we are being required to deliver, it is important the infrastructure is delivered with the housing and we are working with the County Council and other providers to achieve this aim,” said Councillor Ann Newton, who chairs the Local Development Framework sub-committee, afterwards.
Committee Vice-Chairman, Council Leader Bob Standley, shared Cllr Newton’s concerns: “We need to ensure the process is plan-led and not developer led and to do this we need to achieve the five year land supply required. Transitional arrangements on housing numbers would assist this part of the plan.”
There were over 2,000 individual responses to the 46 questions in the Local Plan: Issues, Options and Recommendations consultation. The largest amount of responses related to the number of houses to be built in the south of the District rather than spread equally across the District and infrastructure provision.
The proposed Local Plan allows for 19,950 homes to be built in the District between 2013 and 2037. Some respondents wanted to see more homes built. These were chiefly land owners, developers and agents, and two neighbouring councils. Those who were opposed to the higher housing numbers argued the numbers proposed were unfair and unreasonable and that there was insufficient infrastructure to cope with the growth.
The Committee stressed that the necessary infrastructure must be in place to support new development, and Cllr Newton said failure to improve the A27 could be a “deal breaker” for what is being proposed in the Local Plan. Much better links between Hailsham and Polegate station would also be necessary to support the outlined growth.
Respondents calling for a more even distribution of growth across the District had failed to take account of the need to protect Ashdown Forest.
The sub-committee agreed that a review should take place of the Strategic Housing Market Assessment to take account of any new demographic projections before the proposed Local Plan is put to the Planning Inspector next year.
A number of other studies are also to take place following responses to the consultation. These include:
- A Transport Study concerning Ashdown Forest and a further study considering the impact of development on current road infrastructure and the need for improvements in transport infrastructure.
- Economic Needs Study looking at rural and urban areas and including town centres.
- Open Space and Leisure Study.
- Green Infrastructure Study.
- Discussions with bus and rail providers.
- School Places Assessment.
- Health facilities Assessment.
The responses to the consultation and the LDF Sub-committee recommendations of 20 April in full can be seen on the Agenda and Minutes section of the Wealden District Council web page: http://council.wealden.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=534&Year=0
IMAGE CREDIT: Wealden District Council
You can watch a recording of the Sub-committee online at http://www.wealden.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/221977
