Village is in need of more affordable homes

Robin Hood Pub, Icklesham. 3/4/12 ENGSUS00120120304122708

A public exhibition of the proposals is being held at The Robin Hood Inn, Main Road, Icklesham on Monday July 16 from 4 – 8 pm.

Icklesham Parish Community Land Trust Ltd was formed following a public meeting, as the best way to promote the provision of an exceptional needs housing scheme to meet the housing needs of the Parish, as identified following a parish-wide Housing Needs Survey promoted by Icklesham Parish Council, Action in Rural Sussex and Rother District Council.

Membership of the Trust is open to any Icklesham Parish resident aged 16 or over, which encompasses Icklesham, Rye Harbour, Winchelsea and Winchelsea Beach.

A potential site in the Broad Street area of Icklesham village was identified by the Parish Council from the many sites suggested by those residents who responded to the survey.

The Icklesham Parish Community Land Trust Ltd have formed a partnership with Hastoe Housing Association to investigate the development potential of the identified site with a view to submitting a planning application for fifteen affordable homes, consisting of 2 no 1-bedroom flats, 10 no 2-bedroomed houses and 3 no 3-bedroomed houses.

These will be in three terraced blocks. It is intended that three of the houses will be available for shared ownership. The flats and the remainder of the houses will be for rent.

If the scheme receives planning consent, the land would be owned by the Trust which would let the land on a long lease to Hastoe Housing Association.

This will be an opportunity for residents of the Parish to not only view the draft scheme and comment on it, but also to express an interest in obtaining a tenancy of one of the units. Representatives of the Trust, their scheme Partners and the professional advisers will be on hand to explain the scheme and answer questions.

Any comments received will be reviewed and where possible taken into account before the planning application is finalised.

Smaller exhibitions are intended to take place in the other three Wards of the Parish in the next few weeks.