A dispute over drainage is thought to be behind a long delay in building much-needed new homes in East Sussex.
Wealden planners are requesting a time limit be put on negotiations over a legal agreement which is needed to finalise planning approval for the 40 homes on the Coopers Row site in Five Ash Down.
They say the developer – Linkwise Properties Ltd – is taking months to respond to them. And they even suggest this “unusual and odd” situation might mean the site isn’t available for development at all.
Next Thursday (December 5), Wealden District Council’s Planning Committee North is set to reconsider outline proposals to build up to 40 homes at the .
The committee last considered the scheme in 2022 when members resolved to grant planning permission subject to the developer signing a section 106 legal agreement, which had been intended to secure affordable housing, highways works and financial contributions for leisure space and ecology.
With this legal agreement yet to be signed, officers are asking councillors to redetermine the proposals and add a new time limit.
In a report to the committee, a council planning spokesman said: “The s106 has become intractable, with long periods (months) between comment and action by the developer.
“Various explanations have been given. It is understood there has been some form of dispute between the site owner and the adjacent land owner in relation to drainage rights.
“Whatever the case, the fact remains that at the time of writing this report, the legal agreement has not been signed and completed.
“Members will know that current practice, rolled out in the period since the July 2022 meeting, is to resolve with a ‘double recommendation’. If the resolution is to permit a scheme, we proceed to do so, but also to allow a refusal of permission if that legal agreement is not completed in a timely manner.
“Members are requested to include that double recommendation, but to force fix a date of 14 days from the date of PCN (19 December 2024). This is fully intended to bring the matter to conclusion, all in order to move matters on and to secure delivery of much needed homes.”
Officers go on to say it is “unusual and somewhat odd” that the legal agreement has not yet been signed, concluding that it could indicate the site is not actually available for development. They add the site would still be considered to be appropriate if the legal agreement could be signed, however.
A separate developer, Catesby Strategic Land, is currently seeking permission to build up to 80 homes on an adjacent site (on land to the north of Buxted Road).
That site had previously been judged to be unsuitable for development as part of the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) — a document used as an evidence base for the council’s draft local plan, which earmarks areas for housing.
Catesby is disputing this view, arguing the council’s need for housing should override the SHELAA conclusion, and has pointed to the Coopers Row scheme as evidence for Five Ash Down being considered an appropriate area for development.
For further information on the Coopers Row scheme see application reference WD/2021/1895/MAO on the Wealden District Council website.
