Plumpton Green housing development rejected

On Wednesday (December 8), Lewes District Council’s planning committee refused an outline application seeking permission to build up to 86 homes on land adjacent to Nolands Farm in Station Road.

The application followed on from a previous outline application for the same site, which was refused by the council in 2018 on the grounds that development of the land would have unacceptable impact on the local landscape and on highway safety.

The applicant, Fairfax Acquisitions Limited, argued these proposals overcame the previous concerns, but officers had recommended the scheme be refused on the grounds it would have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area.

Despite this recommendation, senior specialist planning advisor Andrew Hill told the committee that the officer’s position was adopted on balance and warned that an inspector could take a contrary view at appeal.

Mr Hill said: “Looking at the scheme as it is, it is 50/50. It is a judgement call in terms of the scheme proposed and what the adverse impact is. It could go either way, it depends on the day and the inspector.

“I am not going to fool you and say I can give you a 100 per cent guarantee we will win the appeal. If it was that easy, it would be great, but it is not.”  

Representatives of Fairfax strongly argued the scheme should be approved, saying the impact on landscape would be well mitigated.

The developer also pointed to the council’s lack of a five-year supply and argued the site — given what they described as a ‘sustainable location’ — was likely to be included in the next version of the council’s local plan in any case. 

Even so, the committee ultimately came to the conclusion the development would have an unacceptable impact on the character and appearance of the local area and unanimously refused the proposals. Concerns were also raised about the impact of biodiversity and wildlife.

The decision was welcomed by ward councillor Rob Banks (Lib Dem), who was among those who spoke against the proposals during meeting.

Speaking after the meeting, he said: “The site was explicitly rejected by the 2018 Plumpton Parish Neighbourhood Plan which was voted on by local people. This accepted some new housing development — indeed one site is being built out as we speak. But the cumulative impact of the 86 extra houses would negatively affect the character of the village.

“A previous application for 45 houses on this site was refused in 2019 because the development would represent ‘incursion of development and urbanisation of open countryside’. Nothing has changed and this reason for refusal still applies. It is regarded in Plumpton as breathtakingly arrogant that the developers wanted 86 houses. 

“I would like to thank the planning committee members for listening. The issue here is that local democracy must decide what housing goes where, not through central government housing targets forced on to Lewes district.”

The proposals had proven to be highly controversial among local residents, with the council receiving more than 500 letters of objection (although council papers noted some will have come from the same address). 

Objections had also been raised by Plumpton Parish Council, the neighbouring Barcombe and Chailey parish councils as well as the charity CPRE.

The application was not the same as first submitted, having been amended with the removal of a previously proposed business hub and a slight reduction in home from 89 to 86.

For further information on the proposals see application reference LW/21/0262 on the Lewes District Council website.