Councillor objects to application for 27 new homes on land near East Sussex village: ‘this development has been submitted to the council multiple times’

Charlotte Keenan (Newick ward) feels that the application, which is for 27 new homes on land to the south of Allington Road, should be turned down.

Rydon Homes Limited applied in March to build the homes on the 1.96-hectare site at Mitchelswood. People can view it at www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/article/1797/Search-and-view-planning-applications, using reference LW/24/0217.

The company’s planning statement said: “The application seeks full planning permission for residential development of the site with access, roads, parking, public open space, SuDs, landscaping, and associated infrastructure.”

It said the proposed development would ‘supply market and affordable housing in a highly sustainable location’, adding that there is a ‘significant undersupply for housing across the district’.

But councillor Keenan said this will be the third time an application has been made for this site, which is by an ancient woodland.

She said: “This development has been submitted to the council multiple times in the past and has been rightfully turned down on each occasion. Despite these rejections, the developers seem intent on pushing forward with their plans disregarding the valid concerns of residents and local authorities.”

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Councillor Keenan’s objections come as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities intervenes against Lewes District Council’s (LDC) planning department. The council have been designated under S62A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, meaning applications for major development (more than ten houses) can now be made directly to the planning inspectorate.

Councillor Keenan said: “It’s critical we make sure our voices are heard.”

She said she has provided a template objection letter that people can use to add their own objections at actionnetwork.org/letters/save-mitchelswood-object-now-to-application-lw240217

A message from the Lewes District Green Party at actionnetwork.org lists the reasons the Greens are objecting to the development.

These include: concern over loss of green space ‘on good quality arable land’, concern that more housing would add to an ‘unsustainable level of traffic’ on the roads, and concern over an impact on a natural environment where great crested newts and bats can be found. The Greens said the proposal would join up Newick and Chailey parishes too. They said: “We understand the need to build more affordable housing and we think that this proposal is the wrong development in the wrong place.”

Rydon Homes’ planning statement said the development of the site should not lead to any ‘coalescence’ with North Chailey. It said: “While the site is situated on the very edge of the parish of Newick, the properties in Oxbottom Close (served off Allington Road) still form a part of the settlement Newick, while being located in Chailey Parish. There is a further cluster of properties to the west around Lower Station Road and the green gap between that and North Chailey would not be impacted as a result of the development of this site.”

The application also proposes 53 new car parking spaces and 51 cycle spaces. It said 16 of its properties would be houses (six two-bedroom, six three-bedroom and four four-bedroom) with five affordable houses, three affordable flats and three one-bedroom flats (starter homes).

Rydon Homes have been approached for comment.