Major Hailsham housing scheme returns to committee
Plans include building 220 homes on land north of Mill Road
A major Hailsham housing scheme is set to return to council planners, after the proposals were deferred earlier this year.
On Thursday (August 17), Wealden District Council’s Planning Committee South is again set to consider a reserved matters application on plans to build 220 homes on land to the north of Mill Road.
The scheme was last considered by the committee in June, when councillors deferred their decision in hopes of securing more detailed information from Southern Water about the impact of the houses on the local sewerage network.
In its initial response to the application, Southern Water had acknowledged it would only have sufficient capacity to allow 50 homes to join its network without an increased risk of flooding, but had not raised an objection saying this problem could be resolved through reinforcement works.
In a report to be considered by the committee, officers say Southern Water has provided further information since the deferral. This includes more details about the reinforcement works, with the water company saying it is looking at a number of options which could reduce flow into its system.
In their report, council officers stress the water company has a duty to carry out these works and national guidance states that “planning decisions should assume that the pollution control regimes will operate effectively.”
This advice echoes previous warnings from officers that councillors should not withhold planning consent due to concerns about Southern Water’s performance.
The scheme itself already has outline planning permission (granted in 2020), meaning the principle of development has already been agreed. This application seeks permission for the detailed design.
Under the developer’s plans, 77 of the 220 homes would have been classed as affordable properties. These affordable homes would be made up of: 22 one-bed flats; 14 two-bed flats; 22 two-bed houses; 17 three-bed houses; and two four-bed houses.
The remaining 143 properties would be made up of 79 three-bed houses and 64 four-bed houses.
The site would also include a retail unit, described as a convenience store.
For further information on the proposals see application reference WD/2022/1449/MRM on the Wealden District Council website.