‘Eton New Town’ at North Barnes Farm is ‘unsuitable’, says Lewes District Council: proposal for East Chiltington will not be in latest version of draft local plan

The council announced that this version – the ‘preferred options document’ – will be considered at a meeting on Thursday, November 9, where councillors will approve the next phase of public consultation.

The District Council said the The North Barnes Farm site, promoted by Eton College, will not be consulted upon in this draft options paper after council officers’ assessment showed the site is unsuitable.

The proposals by Eton College are to build a 3,250-house new town on countryside it owns at East Chiltington.

James MacCleary, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Lewes, said: “This will be a huge relief to all who have been campaigning against it for so long.”

He said: “The council’s planning team have been very thorough in gathering a detailed evidential base, which confirms the view that local residents and local Lib Dems have long held – that North Barnes Farm is an unacceptable site for development that has no place in the Local Plan.”

Local Lib Dem District Councillor Daniel Stewart-Roberts, added: “Although the Local Plan is still in a draft stage, and not yet finalised, this is one nail in the coffin for the idea of a ‘New Town’ in an utterly unsuitable location.”

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A local plan sets out the policies and framework for developing new homes, employment space and community facilities in the future. Council officers gather information to see where new development is appropriate.

The government gives each council an annual target for new homes and the target for the Lewes district is currently 602 homes per year.

Leader of Lewes District Council Zoe Nicholson called this ‘completely at odds with the reality on the ground in the district’.

She said: “It was never achievable and our officers, following a meticulous assessment of all the evidence gathered, have now shown that beyond any doubt.”

She continued: “Residents will soon have their say as we look to find appropriate locations for achievable levels of new housing – these properties would be in addition to the approximately 5,000 homes already in the pipeline. The evidence gathered so far shows that we can only deliver a maximum of 210 homes a year and we need the public to join in this latest consultation so that we can keep the pressure on the government not to impose their higher targets on our district.”

The information collated by the council’s planning team includes 42,000 representations from residents and organisations that followed the ‘call for sites’ and issues and options documentation.

Cabinet member for Planning Laurence O’Connor said: “We want a plan that helps our residents, young and old, find lifelong homes where they chose to live, not where they are currently forced to live, often due to prohibitively high house prices. Our evidence shows that we need more smaller homes in the district that are truly affordable.”

He said: “The comments we received were vital to help us get to this stage and we need the community to continue to have their say, so the voice of the people is heard when we come to agree our plan with the planning inspector.”

The consultation exercise runs until February 2024.