Core Strategy - Spatial Development Options
Foreword
Planning shapes the environment in which we live and work. This consultation document is about that environment up to the year 2026. Because of this time frame, it is important we make the right decisions for ourselves and future generations.
After this consultation, we will be finalising our local Core Strategy which determines our planning policies for the next 15 years.
This document sets out our vision and long term aims for the Wealden district. It also identifies a number of options for where new housing may be built and where new workplaces may be developed. Please consider these options carefully and feed your views back to us.
The future scale of housing development which the Council has to accommodate is causing the Council considerable concern. This is because we had originally agreed to a proposal to find land for an additional 8,000 houses in the period from 2006 to 2026 but only on the proviso that the infrastructure (roads, water, sewerage, schools and medical facilities for example) to support this growth was in place before development took place. However in finalising the South East Plan, the Secretary of State has decided that Wealden must accommodate 11,000 new homes up to 2026 without any guarantees that the necessary infrastructure will be built first.
Much as we would very much like to consult you on how many new homes should be built in Wealden, Government policy does not allow this. Until the law is changed, we must abide all by Government diktat. If we do not, a Government Inspector will impose changes when the Core Strategy is examined in public.
We believe local communities through their local representatives should be making these decisions.
We are also very concerned about what we see as a flaw in government policy which says our local Core Strategy must both meet the South East Plan target of 11,000 homes, and be deliverable. Since the government will not guarantee the investment, 11,000 homes will be very difficult to deliver.
However the settlement pattern for a smaller number of houses such as 8,000 may not be dissimilar to the pattern for 11,000 on which this consultation is based.
We would like your own ideas about how our District should develop as well as comments on these options. We will then assess your views along with other evidence such as recent appeal decisions, including those in Uckfield.
The document explains how and when to pass your views to us. Your views matter very much to the Council and will influence the decisions we make on your behalf. I look forward to hearing from you.
Councillor Roy Galley - Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning & Housing Delivery
This consultation is undertaken pursuant to Regulation 25 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England) Regulations 2004, as amended