WDC Direction of Travel Consultation

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Read section on 4 Tackling Climate Change  External Link This section expands Please read before commenting

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Question 1

What do you think?

1. Are there any issues or challenges that we have missed?

Response 

                1.  MG Yes, I see no back up plan if Natural England disagree with your assumption or indeed no mention of Natural England in the text of Direction of Travel. Should they not be part of the equation as they were a big influencer in causing the failure of the last plan. 

                2.  SB

2. Do you agree with the proposed policy options?

Response

                1.  MG Yes, Hard not to if WDC carry them through and do not water them down due to outside pressure.

                2.  SB

3. Do you disagree with any of the options?

Response

                1.  MG No

                2.  SB

4. Are there any other policy options we should be considering?

Response

                1.  MG Yes, Policy 7, take onboard local knowledge and ensure that analysis is not restricted to behind a desk and that any flood analysis should have been carried out prior to informal discussions with officer on all major schemes and in all seasons to smooth out error.

Policy 9, Current ESCC parking standard are well short of current average household need with house prices at current levels even a couple living in a one bedroom flat will both be working and due to the low bus levels and any well-paid jobs being mostly out of the area most couples will have 2 cars. With the current Covid situation more self-employment will happen, and company vans (etc) will be home based which has been on the increase in recent years.

                2.  SB

5. Do you have any other comments in relation to how we can plan to combat climate change?

Response

                1.  MG Yes, Will WDC Planning be tasked with looking at all unbuilt application and retrospectively and ensure they all fit with the policies in section 4 so that the target of 2050 is met?

                2.  SB

Changing Climate a short film from 1978  Changing Climate  External Link 

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Read section on  7 Our Local Economy  External Link  This section expands  Please read before commenting 

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Question 5

What do you think?

21. Are there any issues or challenges that we have missed?

Response

                1.  MG Yes Tourism as an employment option should be added with over 50% of Wealden in the Hogh Weald AONB this has to be the biggest employment opportunity.

                2.  SB

22. Do you agree with the proposed policy options?

Response

                1.  MG Yes But need to need to take into a broader view on working from home.

                2.  SB

23. Do you disagree with any of the options?

Response

                1.  MG No but need to more Covid 19 proved.

                2.  SB

24. Are there any other policy options we should be considering?

Response

                1.  MG Yes, In the policies the word Tourism or Leisure are not quoted and this needs to be treated as an employment opportunity.

                2.  SB

25. Do you have any other comments in relation to how we can plan for employment within both the urban and rural areas of our district?   

Response

                1.  MG Yes As with question 24 current hospitality venues need to be encouraged to incorporate local meeting/business centres to cater for the time when working from home is not possible.

                2.  SB

Our local economy relies on Tourisum and Sussex coastal towns play a big part  Sun Trap of Sussex  External Link 

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Read section on  9 Tourism   External Link This section expands  Please read before commenting 

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Question 7

What do you think?

31. Are there any issues or challenges that we have missed?

  Response  

1. MG Yes Give total protection to those area's as suggested in the Governments Planning for the Future failure to do so will kill of tourism to the area.
2. SB

32. Do you agree with the proposed policy options?

 Response  

1. MG No
2. SB

33. Do you disagree with any of the options?

  Response  

1. MG NO
2. SB

34. Are there any other policy options we should be considering?

  Response  

1. MG Yes as Q 7
2. SB

35. Do you have any other comments in relation to how we can plan for tourism and culture within the district?

  Response  

1. MG Yes as Q 7
2. SB

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If you need a break see if you can identify the places in this short film  Do you know your Sussex  External Link 

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Read section on    10 Our Natural Environment  External Link  This section expands  Please read before commenting 

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Question 9

What do you think?

41. Are there any issues or challenges that we have missed?

 Response  

1. MG Yes, How can you continue to reset when you are rolling over at every turn, Blackboys development as an example, stated as not viable in SHEELA.
2. SB

1. MG Yes Hard not to but history has shown us these policies will just be ignored.
2. SB

1. MG NO
2. SB

1. MG No
2. SB

1. MG Yes, How can you continue to reset when you are rolling over at every turn, Blackboys development as an example, stated as not viable in SHEELA. The prove will be in the execution which has not been demonstrated in the past. 
2. SB

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Read section on    11 Our Landscape, Heritage and Cultural Assets  External Link  This section expands  Please read before commenting 

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Question 11

What do you think?

51. Are there any issues or challenges that we have missed?

 Response  

1. MG Yes
2. SB

1. MG Yes
2. SB

1. MG No
2. SB

1. MG No
2. SB

1. MG Yes, Every effort should be made in this area but again you use the word "condidering", again no positive statements.
2. SB

Landscapes are inportant part of Sussex take a look at a short film over 10 months   Sussex over 10 months  External Link 

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 Read section on   13 Health and Well-Being   External Link  This section expands  Please read before commenting 

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Question 13 Yes, With any new development a covenant should be attached that any of the policies/conditions that affect the health and wellbeing of the District. This is to ensure that if a site is sold before being build out the policies and conditions stay in place.

What do you think?

61. Are there any issues or challenges that we have missed?

  Response  

1. MG Yes, Alot of these policies are already in place however WDC seem to ignore when it does not suit them or when it makes it difficult to achieve the developer controlled 5-year land supply. WDC need to be more challenging to central government to have the rules changed to permissions granted divided by 5 to calculate 5-year land supply.
2. SB

1. MG
2. SB

1. MG No.
2. SB

1. MG Yes, Historic land used for health and mind wellbeing, so often land that may not be public but has not pursued actions to keep it private for decades should be taken into consideration when deciding on SHEELA allocation.
2. SB

1. MG Yes, So often housing growth takes precedence over residents Health and Wellbeing both physical (little provision to avoid traffic with existing road network being pushed beyond design capacity) and mental (overdeveloped and cramped sites).
2. SB

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14.1 The new Local Plan will set out a long term vision for the district and sets out objectives and a spatial strategy, to provide a framework for delivering development in the district for the next 20 years or so. A key consideration for the Local Plan will be the spatial distribution of new development within the district, particularly housing and economic development to meet needs and there are four broad options presented below to meet those requirements. Although there are four possible options presented within this consultation document, it could be that a combination of several of these options presented will form the final preferred strategy to meet identified growth within the new Local Plan.

14.2 Through the existing Wealden District Core Strategy Local Plan, as well as extant planning permissions, an existing supply of both business development and housing sites have been confirmed, which will contribute to achieving some of Wealden’s development needs in the future. However, as recognised elsewhere in this document, we will require further significant growth to accommodate all our requirements.

14.3 At this stage, these growth options are not about specific sites or locations of where new growth should take place, but at the highest level the options for how the district may develop – should we seek to deliver all the growth in one or more strategic locations, should we spread the growth to all corners of the District, or somewhere in between.

14.4 It should be noted that the following options are presented in no particular order.

14.5 This option would be to focus on growth for existing sustainable settlements, similar to the approach taken in the Core Strategy Local Plan (2013).

14.6 For this option, our most sustainable settlements (possibly including those very close to the border) would deliver the vast majority of the growth in the district. A smaller proportion of growth would then go to other sustainable rural settlements within the district, including larger villages with sustainability credentials. There would only be very limited growth in smaller villages and rural areas.

• Accepting further development in some locations would involve substantial developments within the High Weald AONB that would need to be justified through national planning policy;
• Accepting further development within South Wealden will likely necessitate a need to deliver substantial highway infrastructure improvements to the A27 and A22 that requires substantial government investment that is not yet committed;
• Limited development within the villages and rural areas of Wealden may be a missed opportunity to make best use of development potential in these locations, where we may otherwise allow villages to grow in a sustainable way;
• This option would focus development on the most sustainable locations in the district with access to local shopping services, education, leisure and recreational facilities;
• This option would ensure more access for public transport and an opportunity to enhance those public transport opportunities as a result of further growth;
• Possible opportunities for higher densities in urban areas and town centre locations, especially where there is good access to public transport, services and jobs;      
• This option provides limited opportunities to provide affordable housing within rural areas and/or the High Weald AONB, where affordability issues are most acute;
• Wealden has a limited selection of brownfield sites and where they have been available, many have previously been granted planning permission for new housing development. Therefore, the district has a limited supply of additional brownfield sites, particularly in settlements that have been the focus of growth for a number of years; and
• This option would reduce the potential impact of development pressure on other more rural parts of the district.    

14.7 This option would distribute growth across the district to sustainable settlements, with the majority of development still being located within the most sustainable settlements as listed in option one (subject to further settlement hierarchy work), but with a larger proportion of growth being earmarked for other sustainable settlements within the district, such as larger villages within the district that have sustainability credentials (this will be updated as part of the Council’s settlement hierarchy work). There would continue to be only limited growth within smaller villages and rural areas.

• Accepting further development in some locations would involve substantial development in the High Weald AONB that would need to be justified through national planning policy;
• Accepting further development within South Wealden will likely necessitate a need to deliver substantial highway infrastructure improvements to the A27 and A22 that requires substantial government investment that is not yet committed;
• This option would still lead to more limited development within smaller villages and rural areas, and may not support their sustainable growth;
• This option would focus development on the most sustainable locations in the district with access to local services;
• There would be more access for public transport opportunities and opportunity to enhance those public transport opportunities as a result of further growth;
• Some larger villages are not well served by public transport, which may result increased reliance on car use;
• This option still provides limited opportunities to provide affordable housing within rural areas and/or the High Weald AONB, where affordability issues are most acute, albeit it would be an improvement over option 1 in this respect;
• This option may provide potential to enhance the sustainability of larger rural settlements through new housing development (and additional population) supporting local services/facilities and enhanced public transport;   
• Possible opportunities for higher densities in urban areas and town centre locations, especially where there is good access to public transport, services and jobs; and
• This option would present the opportunity for larger villages to support local services and contribute to the viability of the rural economy.   

14.8 This option would be to provide for development in all settlements across the district in line with an updated settlement hierarchy that assesses the sustainability credentials of all settlements in the district. The amount of new development would be proportionate to the size of each settlement (and its position within the settlement hierarchy) as well as its existing services/facilities and the ability to enhance those facilities. This would be the only option where some growth within smaller villages and rural areas would be supported subject site specific constraints and the settlement’s position within the settlement hierarchy.    

• Accepting further development in some locations would involve substantial development in the High Weald AONB that would need to be justified through national planning policy;
• Accepting further development within South Wealden will likely necessitate a need to deliver substantial highway infrastructure improvements to the A27 and A22 that requires substantial government investment that is not yet committed;
• This option may provide new homes in locations that are relatively remote from a comprehensive range of services and facilities;
• This option would present opportunities for all villages to support local services and contribute to the viability of the rural economy;  
• This option may provide potential to enhance the sustainability of larger rural settlements through new housing development (and additional population) supporting local services/facilities and enhanced public transport;
• In contrast, the scale of development in some smaller villages/rural areas may not be sufficient to ensure services are viable, or improved public transports facilities;   
• This option would improve the delivery of new affordable homes within rural parts of the district, including the High Weald AONB, where affordability issues are most acute;
• This option would improve the delivery of housing generally within rural areas; and
• This option would provide housing delivery in locations that are not well served by public transport with a resulting increased reliance on car usage. 

14.9 This option would in effect include a ‘new’ freestanding settlement(s), potentially in the form of one or more ‘Garden Village’. Depending on the final location, this option could also include the very significant expansion of an existing settlement(s).  

14.10 This option would be based on a potential settlement or settlements of around 2,000 to 5,000 homes plus other business, employment, community and leisure uses. The proposed settlement would include an agreed set of design principles and would be led through a unique master plan that would form part of the Local Plan.     

• It is reliant on identifying a satisfactory sustainable location for a new settlement and a willing developer to bring forward the site on a holistic basis;
• There would be potential to plan the site through the Local Plan process, including design codes and comprehensive master planning, including the provision of transport infrastructure, community facilities, commercial uses etc;
• Consideration of other developments within the district would still be required given the scale of development requirements in the district, particularly in the short to medium term, as the new settlement will take some time to deliver; 
• The delivery timescales of such a strategic development would mean that its contribution would likely not be achieved until the second half of the Local Plan period and would not help the Council with its housing shortfall in early part of the Local Plan;
• There may be potential impacts on national and/or international environmental constraints depending on the specific location pursued through this option;
• The infrastructure requirements will be considerable and may have implications for timely delivery (i.e. unexpected delays), which may require other housing developments in other locations of the district to be brought forward sooner to meet housing needs at that time; 
• This approach may enable the local authority to capture more affordable housing from a development such as this;
• There would be greater scope for a mix of uses within this development though this will be dependent on the location of the settlement;
• The site would largely be greenfield and would therefore require a significant land take in open countryside. This would reduce the amount of brownfield land brought forward for housing development within the Local Plan;
• It is very unlikely that rail services would be connected to a ‘new settlement’ given the existing location of rail services in the district and the cost for the relocation/establishment of a new rail station within/nearby to the new settlement;
• In general, transport infrastructure in some areas of district may not be adequate or deliverable to support development of this scale;
• There is a significant opportunity to provide a high quality development, of a good design with more community engagement;
• This option provides limited opportunities to provide affordable housing within rural areas and/or the High Weald AONB, where affordability issues are most acute; and
• This option would reduce the potential impact of development pressure on other more rural parts of the district.

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Question 14

What do you think?

66. Are there any spatial distribution options that we have missed?

  Response  

1. MG - yes building for the natural population growth, the South East has taken more than its fair share of population growth through the dwelling led increases which bear no relation to natural growth (the ONS 2018 statistics clearly show this), also central government must remain true to its election pledge and develop the Midland and the North and move the 46% of dwelling growth in that direction and implement its own findings in the Oxford and Cambridge Arc Report. 
2. SB

67. What is your preferred option or combination of options in order of preference?

  Response  

1. MG - 4, however none of the options should be pursued until the backlog of permission (6325 plus any grated in 2019/20 less those completed in 2018/20) are completed or at least started with an end date given and with no drip feeding the market place.
2. SB

68. Do you disagree with any of the options presented?

  Response  

1. MG -In options 1,2,3 From above "Accepting further development in some locations would involve substantial developments within the High Weald AONB that would need to be justified through national planning policy" - Surley this is against stated goverment policy of protecting and increasing green open spaces which have proved so benificial in the Covid-19 situation we are in, and is contary to the Tourism and Economic oppourtunies which come from Wealden largest asset. 
2. SB

69. What views do you have about the possibility of a new settlement somewhere in the district to provide a large proportion of development needs?

   Response  

1.  MG - This is many peoples preferred option because it would bring the infrastructure with it, which is always lacking in options 1.2.3 above and current system. 
2. SB

70. Where do you think a possible new settlement could be located and why?

  Response  

1. MG -   A simple look at the DEFRA Magic Map overlayed protected areas and with Transport links would clearly identify locations and it is clearly along the A27 - Polegate to Lewes Railway Route at a point where they come close.
2. SB

The End

Interesting rnding to this short film  Robinson Charley (1948) 

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