Major Polegate housing development to begin construction next year

The proposed development in Shepham Lane will see 108 affordable properties being built, including 43 social rent and 65 shared ownership homes.

A combination of apartments and houses have been proposed, which will range in size from one to four-bedroom homes, housebuilder Orbit Homes has confirmed.

Back in June 2022, an outline planning application was approved (reference: WD/2021/3105/MFA) for the dwellings to be built in Little Shepham on a 14-acre site. This was just an outline planning application with all matters reserved, meaning future applications have to be granted on the finer details of the development.

A later application, which sought permission for 100 per cent of the homes to be affordable, was refused by Wealden District Council, which argued that the scheme would not provide enough money for the highway and bus service improvements it considered necessary to offset the development’s impacts.

However, this decision was overturned by the planning inspector who said the benefits of the affordable homes would ‘far outweigh’ this downside.

The reserved matters application was fully approved at a planning committee in June this year, and construction is expected to begin early next year.

New internal roads, parking and pedestrian routes will be built as part of the development, the plans state, to provide links to the surrounding areas and encourage residents to walk or cycle.

It’s hoped the created street network will ‘reduce the dominance of the car’, according to the plans.

185 car parking spaces will be allocated to residents, in addition to 36 spaces for visitors.

Before construction begins, four existing buildings will be demolished on the land, the plans state. This includes a five-bedroom detached house, a garage, workshop and stables, all of which have not been occupied since 2021, according to the plans.

The proposed development says it will take measures to incorporate sustainable principles, such as the allocation of EV charging points and the consideration of wildlife habitat. This includes plans to put small holes in the bottom of adjoined fences to provide passages for hedgehogs, and the introduction of bat boxes to enhance roosting opportunities.

For further information on the scheme, see application reference: WD/2022/2975/MRM on the Wealden District Council website.