The closing date to submit your response is 28th February 2025.
Our earlier post on the 28th January explained that Lewes District Council are currently holding a consultation on the creation of a draft Local Plan. That post explained what a Local Plan is, how it will affect you and asked the question should you be concerned?
The consultation closes on the 28th February 2025. Nothing is decided yet, now is the time to have your say.
The proposed Lewes District Council Local Plan will provide a blueprint for the future of the whole of Lewes District for the next 15 years. Currently the emphasis is to focus development on the coastal strip, Seaford, Newhaven and Peacehaven.
Under the proposals being put forward the character of Seaford could be changed. The proposed plans consider Seaford to be a District Centre. A District Centre is considered to have the infrastructure and services in place which can bear the pressure of the additional population that comes with new developments.
For example one of the proposals is that development sites in Seaford will have to accept a much higher density of dwellings. The proposed figure is a minimum of 50 dwellings per hectare. A senior Lewes District Council Officer explained this would mean ‘Seaford would have to accept at least four strorey buildings for the next 10 years.
The plan talks about redeveloping existing housing and gardens and says it will look favourably on Houses in Multiple Occupation. Worryingly, it also says in certain cases they will accept rooms in such Houses in Multiple Occupation below the minimum size standards. These and many more proposals are included in the supporting documents that are included in the consultation.
No one disputes new housing is needed, particularly affordable and social housing. However this accomodation needs to be the type that people want to live in. We need the starter homes to enable people to get on the housing market, and reasonably priced rental homes. Do you think these proposals will meet these needs?
Included in the proposals are site allocations for new residential development. You can access the Local Plan consultation to view the early site allocations here. You may wish to use your local knowledge to advise Lewes District Council whether these sites are suitable. Further sites will be added at the next stage of the consulation in a few months time.
Please note when viewing development site details, the information in the paperwork is contradictory. For example, site reference ESAP 21 Land to the South of Chyngton Way states an allocation of a minimum of 40 dwellings. However, when you read the site specific considerations on the same document it says ‘any development will be expected to comply with the relevant policies of the emerging plan.’ As this site is 2.75 hectares if the density policy is enforced it could mean over 100 dwellings.
Seaford Town Council recently held an ‘open meeting’ for residents to express their concerns. This was well attended and Seaford Town Council are basing their response to the draft Local Plan on the comments made by residents. Their draft response can be read here starting on page 10. There will be a Seaford Town Council Planning and Highways committee meeting on the 20th February to finalise their reponse.
How do you have your say?
The general impression is that this is not a user friendly response form. As people have wanted to have their say but have struggled we have created the following step-by-step guide to access and complete the questionnaire plus the forms to comment on development sites. It is important to note you do not need to respond to all of the questions, just the ones you wish to comment on.
Celebrating Seaford 