The challenge we face in Wealden is to provide prosperity, jobs and homes for our growing population while protecting the climate and the unique habitat of the Weald. We are concerned that these two inappropriate plans will be allocated on the Local Plan.

Ashdown Business Park

The draft Local Plan says that Wealden needs a huge amount of land allocated to industrial and warehouse development for employment purposes. The amount is measured against a historic trend and development just carries on throughout the plan period. It does not take into account the needs of the population and the impact on the natural environment of a rural district and the already overburdened capacity of its infrastructure. The Local Plan already allocates enough land to create the jobs the future population needs. There is no justification for allocating the Ashdown Business Park extension for industrial and warehousing land. If it were to be allocated it would conflict with the principles of the Local Plan and there would be substantial harmful impacts on the environment and our infrastructure cannot cope with the increased traffic.

Owlsbury Farm proposed ‘neighbourhood development’

At this stage, Wealden has a target of 1,200 homes to be built each year for the next 15 years. This target is set by central Government. The Local Plan is, therefore, looking to include this number. Wealden has only been building 709 homes each year on average for the last 10 years so hitting the new target would mean a 70% increase in the number of built homes in the District. Whilst the Owlsbury Farm neighbourhood would provide 2,000 homes, the location of the site is inappropriate and not based on good town planning. It is disconnected from Uckfield and does not present a sustainable solution.

Local Plan – Public Consultation

The consultation period began on 15th March 2024 closed at 5pm on 10th May 2024. We remain committed to offering guidance on the next stages of the process.

A planning application was submitted to Wealden in December 2022. It is for 77 acres of commercial warehousing and office space which will extend the current Ashdown Business Park. This huge development is not needed and will destroy wildlife, woodland and the strategic gap between Maresfield and Piltdown. This idea is now being considered as part of the Local Plan process.

Although no planning application has yet been submitted to date, this potential site spanning a huge 370 acres at Little Horsted, Owlsbury Farm has been suggested for housing development. The ‘neighbourhood’ would comprise 2,000 houses, shops, a community hall and a school as well as employment space and would urbanise a major area of the Wealden open countryside and sensitive landscape.

The Wealden Local Plan consultation ended at 5pm on Friday, 10th May 2024. The draft plan does not currently include the Ashdown Business Park Expansion or Owlsbury but they are mentioned as possible ‘reserve’ sites for the future. We now wait while the comments are reviewed and will keep these pages updated.

Have Questions?

A Local Plan is a document prepared by the local planning authority which sets out the vision, objectives, policies, and proposals for the future development of the local area, typically over a 15-20 year period. It covers aspects like housing, employment, community facilities, transport, and the environment.

Public participation is crucial because it ensures that the plan reflects the community’s needs, aspirations, and concerns. It enhances the plan’s legitimacy, aids in the identification of local issues, and helps in developing policies that are more likely to gain public support and be successfully implemented.

SABRE provided a guide on this website on how to respond to the Local Plan consultation. We also conducted local meetings. To find out about these then you can follow us on Facebook and stay up to date with our activities.

Once submitted, your feedback will be reviewed by the planning team and considered in the context of the Local Plan development. The local authority usually publishes a summary of all responses and explains how the input influenced the final version of the plan.

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