119 East Sussex homes plan to be considered

On Thursday (October 5), Wealden District Council’s planning committee south is due to consider a reserved matters application connected with plans to build 119 homes on land to the south of Rattle Road in Westham.

Known as Site C, the land is the final part of a 318-home development, which gained outline planning permission in July 2020. Applications for Sites A and B — containing 199 homes — were approved by council planners in August.

In a report recommending the scheme be approved, a Wealden planning spokesman said: “The outline planning permission accepted that there would be a significant quantum of development at this site.

“The design and layout of the buildings has been informed by the built from of the area and landscape of the location. The design of the dwellings would comprise brick and render elevations, which are typical within the local area. The layout would not require the removal of significant amounts of existing vegetation.

“In this regard, it is considered that this reserved matters application achieves acceptable scale, layout and design and would accord with the [National Planning Policy Framework], which requires development to be sympathetic to local character, including the surrounding built environment and landscape setting.”

They added: “The reserved matters submissions are considered acceptable, therefore it is recommended that approval … is granted subject to the recommended conditions.”

While recommended for approval, objections have been raised by Westham Parish Council. Parish councillors have raised concerns about the potential for flooding on the site and say the developer should reduce the number of houses being built. This view is not shared by Wealden’s planning officers.

Objections have also been raised by a small number of local residents. Some of the concerns raised by these objectors — such as pressure on infrastructure and loss of agricultural land — are on matters already decided by the outline permission.

The development is to be made up of 11 one-bedroom homes, 46 two-bedroom homes, 36 three-bedroom homes and 26 four bedroom homes. Of these 42 properties will be classed as affordable housing.

For further information see application reference WD/2022/2727/MRM on the Wealden District Council website.