Councillors vote to refuse 700 homes on outskirts of Eastbourne but plans due for second hearing

On Thursday (November 4), Wealden District Council’s planning committee south considered an outline application to build up to 700 new homes on agricultural land known as Mornings Mill Farm, off of Eastbourne Road in Lower Willingdon.

After a little over two hours of discussion and debate, the committee reached a decision to refuse planning permission to the scheme, primarily on the grounds it fell outside of the development boundary for Polegate and Willingdon contained within the now out-of-date 1998 Wealden Local Plan. 

The decision came despite strident advice from planning officers, who argued this reason could not be defended at appeal, particularly as part of the site had been broadly allocated for housing within the 2013 Core Strategy Local Plan.

Once the vote was cast, however, Cllr Johanna Howell (Con) proposed the application be called in and reconsidered by the council’s planning committee north, which she chairs.

The proposal was supported by planning committee south chairman Cllr Susan Stedman, who said: “We accept the site is controversial but there has to be a technical reason to withhold permission. 

“Following the core strategy inclusion of this site, I don’t believe this has been met.”

Officers’ advice had centred around a planning appeal on a previous application to develop the site.

This earlier application, which had sought permission for 1,100-homes in 2017, was never determined by Wealden District Council and the applicant lodged an appeal on the grounds of non-determination.

During that appeal, the applicant made some significant amendments to their plans, reducing the total housing to 700. However, the planning inspector ultimately dismissed the appeal on highway safety concerns.

Officers said these issues had now been resolved (noting that no objections were raised by East Sussex Highways) meaning there were no other grounds for refusal considered sound by the planning inspector. 

When coupled with Wealden’s lack of a five-year supply of housing, which brings a presumption in favour of development, officers said the application should be approved.

This argument had failed to sway the majority of the committee, however, who had a wide variety of concerns about the impact of the proposed development, particularly on local roads, sewer system and wider infrastructure. 

Very similar concerns were raised by ward councillors Stephen Shing, Daniel Shing and Oi Lin Shing.

Many councillors also pointed to the high levels of local objections to the proposals, with more than 800 residents having written to the council about the application.

These issues, several councillors argued, meant they could not support the scheme, even in light of the lack of objections from statutory authorities (such as East Sussex Highways and Southern Water). 

Cllr David White (Independent) said: “Yes I am aware of the five-year land supply, yes I am aware of the problem that puts us into, but I am equally aware that we are taking a decision this morning  on a scheme which will put down a footprint for the next 400-500 years. 

“I don’t think we have the opportunity to give the thing a thorough examination, which you would get if this matter went before a planning inquiry.”

He added: “The only way to get this thing properly examined, unfortunately, is to actually refuse it this morning and put it to the applicant to make the appeal. 

“I am aware that raises a cost implication and we could be penalised in costs if we lose, but at the end of the day I think we have to take a decision that reflects the views of the local residents who live here and have to live with the system we are going to create.”

As well as objections from local residents and other councils, the scheme had also seen concerns raised by local MPs Caroline Ansell and Maria Caulfield, who had asked for the application to be called in by the government should it be approved.

This potential for call-in appeared to offer hope for some councillors concerned about the potential for incurring costs, as the secretary-of-state call-in had the potential to see a similar inquiry procedure. The committee as whole was not reassured by this prospect, however.

With the call-in proposed by Cllr Howell, the decision to refuse will not stand. Instead the application will be considered by the council’s planning committee north in the near future. 

That committee is next set to meet next Thursday (November 11), but the application is more likely to go to a later hearing. 

If approved, further planning permission would be needed before construction could begin on the site. At present it is expected that 245 of the 700 homes would be classed as affordable.

As well as housing, the final site could include 8,600 square metres of employment space, a medical centre, a school, playing fields, children’s play space and allotments.

For further information on the proposals see application reference WD/2021/0174/MEA on the Wealden District Council website.