Petition handed in against Sedlescombe housing plans

A petition signed by more than 360 villagers calling for a controversial housing decision in Sedlescombe to be '˜called in' was handed to the council and the MP yesterday (Thursday, October 27).
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Oct 2016, 16:08 BST
Updated 31st Oct 2016, 09:52 BST

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Helen Eckersley handed the petition to Rother District Council with her children Lily and Daniel. Photo by James Eckersley SUS-161027-132845001Helen Eckersley handed the petition to Rother District Council with her children Lily and Daniel. Photo by James Eckersley SUS-161027-132845001
Helen Eckersley handed the petition to Rother District Council with her children Lily and Daniel. Photo by James Eckersley SUS-161027-132845001

Helen Eckersley, of Brede Lane, helped to collect 363 signatures from disgruntled residents in opposition to the approval of 16 homes on Street Farm.

Sedlescombe Parish Council is similarly outraged as it described Rother District Council’s planning committee’s decision as ‘deplorable’.

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More than 200 people wrote letters objecting to the plans and Rother’s planning officers recommended refusal because of the almost-finished Sedlescombe Neighbourhood Plan, which protected the field against development.

Mrs Eckersley took her children Lily, seven, and Daniel, five, with her when she gave the petition to the council and Huw Merriman’s office as maintaining the ‘beauty’ of the village is ‘essential’ for their future.

Lily said: “I don’t want them to build houses because I love it when we walk across the field to see the bluebells in the spring.”

Daniel added that he loves flying his glider there.

“The petition has over 300 signatures gathered from residents in just a week – I think that is surely evidence enough of the strength of feeling among the people that actually live in this village,” Mrs Eckersley said.

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“We are most angry at the disgraceful way in which the neighbourhood plan, which took a lot of time and effort to complete, has been entirely ignored.”

Sedlescombe council outraged over ‘deplorable’ housing approval

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Related topics:Petition