Revised plans for a major housing development in Hailsham have been green lit by Wealden planners.
On Thursday (October 10), Wealden District Council’s Planning Committee South approved proposals to demolish a property in Battle Road and build up to 145 homes on land to its rear.
The application followed on from a previous version of the scheme, which sought permission to build up to 180 homes on the site.
The earlier scheme was turned down by councillors in March on three grounds: the loss of agricultural land; the site’s proximity to a sewage treatment Works; and the ‘less than substantial harm’ to nearby listed buildings.
Some of these concerns were reiterated in a statement from ward councillor Neil Cleaver ahead of the committee’s debate. Reading the statement on Cllr Cleaver’s behalf, Cllr Geoffrey Draper said: “The land hitherto is great quality organic soil and we must prioritise and should prioritise the welfare of our farmers and our local food producers.
“Many of you on this committee promised in your campaign materials at the last election to combat overdevelopment, yet here we are today again faced with this type of application.
“I urge you to refuse this planning application based on our development concerns, not to mention the cumulative impact of the incremental development in this area as a whole.”
The main change from the previous proposals is the reduction in the overall number of units. This reduction came in response to concerns about the proximity of some of the homes to Hailsham North Wastewater Treatment Works and the prospect of “odour issues”. Notably, in recommending approval on the previous scheme, officers said the site should be limited to no more than 141 homes to avoid this issue.
Officers said there were also material differences in respect of the loss of agricultural land. The committee’s previous refusal on this ground had been driven by concerns about the impact on Hook and Son, a dairy which had been using the site to graze its herd of cattle.
At the time, Hook and Son had said the loss of the grazing land would force it to reduce the size of its herd — a move it said could endanger the viability of the business.
For its part, the applicant, Fernham Homes, had argued that the land had not been used for grazing since September 2023 and that this reason for refusal was not sustainable.
Since the initial application was refused, Hook and Son have been unable to renew its grazing licence with the site’s owners. The dairy has also been crowdfunding for a piece of machinery known as a ‘zero grazer’, which would allow it to bring grass in from elsewhere and operate without access to the land. At time of publication, the dairy has raised a little over half of its £50,000 target.
Officers also told the committee how the council had been placed on notice that Fernham Homes would be appealing the initial refusal. Officers said this appeal would likely be withdrawn as a result of planning permission being granted on the revised scheme.
Following discussions, the committee opted to grant planning permission in line with the officers’ recommendation.
As an outline scheme, the application had only been seeking approval for the principle of the development and its access via Battle Road. Other details, such as layout and design, will require further planning approval at a later stage.
For further information on the proposals see application reference WD/2024/1833/MAO on the Wealden District Council website.
