Have Your Say
Wealden Local Plan
Updated information
12/3/25
Wealden’s Local Plan Update
Sub-Committee Meeting Overview
The Wealden Local Plan Sub-Committee met on 5th March 2025 to respond to new Central Government policy and determine the next steps for the Local Plan.
Increased Housing Target
The new housing target for Wealden has increased from 1,186 homes per year to 1,433 homes per year, representing a 21% increase.
Due to this significant increase and the large number of public comments on the Regulation 18 Draft Plan last year—particularly regarding the Spatial Strategy—Wealden has decided to conduct a second Regulation 18 consultation on targeted chapters of the draft plan.
Second Regulation 18 Consultation
The upcoming consultation will focus on key areas, including:
- Spatial Strategy (covering Owlsbury and Ashdown Business Park Expansion)
- Potentially Housing, Economy, and Town Centres
In addition, Wealden will gather new and updated evidence on topics such as Housing, Economy, and Design.
Local Plan Timeline
The current Local Plan programme is as follows:
- Second Regulation 18 Consultation – September to December 2025
- Regulation 19 Consultation (all chapters) – April to June 2026
- Submission for Independent Examination – July to August 2026
- Plan Adoption – April to June 2027
This means that the public will need to participate in both consultations. SABRE will work to support the community in this process by providing information and guidance.
Owlsbury Planning Application
Meanwhile, Fairfax is proceeding with a planning application for Owlsbury in Summer 2025, regardless of the Local Plan process.
Ashdown Business Park Expansion Planning Application
The Planning Application made in December 2022, which led to the creation of SABRE, is still alive and may be pushed forward at any time. SABRE will monitor this and inform the community if more responses need to be made to this as well.
Next Steps
Unfortunately, this means that the community will need to respond to both the Owlsbury planning application and the draft Local Plan. SABRE will aim to assist those who wish to submit comments.
Watch the Sub-Committee Meeting
You can watch a recording of the Sub-Committee meeting by clicking here.
Read our leaflet
Have your say on the future of Wealden
Welcome to our consultation page for the Wealden Local Plan. This is your opportunity to influence the future development, conservation, and strategic vision of our district. Your views are essential in shaping a plan that reflects our community’s aspirations, needs, and priorities.
A Local Plan is decided and voted on by the District Council following an extended consultative process, and it fixes the sites and boundaries where development can take place.
Without a Plan, the free for all will continue and it will be difficult for local people to influence development
we need to understand about housing needs
We do need more housing of the right size and in the right place that is well designed to reflect the Sussex context. The draft plan is positive so far in that it specifies that only 25% of housing will be 4 or more bedrooms. However, the current target of 1,200 houses built per annum for 15 years is excessive and out of date.
The other good news is that there are already over 8000 homes with planning permission which count towards the overall target
We need to highlight positive parts of the plan
Parts of the plan are positive and must be positively supported
SABRE will be offering our opinions on those parts of the plan we should fully support.
the guidance we gave on responding to the consultation
Option 1 – use the online portal to respond
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Read our Guide and keep it open on your desktop.
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Register on the consultation portal and start your response using our guide. Use our guide but please do adjust as much as you can – if they responses are different it will make more of an impact.
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The portal may not be easy for some to navigate. If the Wealden Portal has defeated you, then you can call the Wealden Helpline by calling 01892 602008 or send us an email and we will try and help.
Option 2 – use the PDF Form and email to Wealden District Council
Use one of our completed PDF templates below.
Just open the document, complete your details, edit the responses to the questions we recommend are answered with your own thoughts and then save as your own document and email to: planningpolicy@wealden.gov.uk If you have questions you can use the Wealden Helpline by calling 01892 602008 or email us here.