Sussex Councillors Set To Reconsider Heathfield Housing Plans

Plans for a housing development on the outskirts of Heathfield are set to go back in front of Wealden councillors next week.

On Thursday (January 9), Wealden District Council’s Planning Committee South is set to reconsider proposals to build up to 24 homes on land associated with Snatchells Farm to the north of the A265.

The outline scheme was last in front of the committee in December, with councillors at the time concluding they did not have adequate information to make a decision as several statutory consultees had not yet responded to the application.

Councillors had put forward a list of consultees they wanted to hear back from before making their decision. These included the Environment Agency and the High Weald National Landscape unit, as well as several Wealden District Council consultees, including its conservation officer and waste management team.

While only some of these consultees have now responded, none have raised any objections to the scheme. As a result, officers say they are content planning permission can be granted, subject to conditions.

These conditions would include a requirement for the developer to carry out contamination investigations and (if contamination is found) implementation of remediation measures. This is notable as councillors at the previous hearing had cited some anecdotal evidence of the land being contaminated.

During the previous hearing, councillors also spent some time discussing concerns around the site’s drainage connection to a water course abutting the site.

The developer has responded to these concerns with a technical notice saying the objector has no lawful basis to refuse natural water flows from the site.

Officers note how this would be a civil matter between the two parties and not an issue for the planning committee to determine.

In their report, officers said:

“A 24-unit scheme could sit comfortably on site with a mix of development that has good spacing in a visually contained site, with limited harm to the characteristics that contribute the High Weald.

“While the harm to the High Weald is assessed to be limited, great weight is attached to it.

"Weighing in favour of the proposal is its contribution to the housing supply for the social objective of sustainable development, including affordable housing and custom/self-build plot, which attracts significant weight.”

The report adds:

“Overall, it is considered the scheme has addressed issues with the earlier proposal and it is once again recommended that planning permission be granted, subject to the legal agreement and the suggested conditions at the top of this report.”

For clarity, the earlier proposal referenced by officers was a 2021 scheme to build up to 34 homes on the same site, which had been withdrawn by the developer.

As an outline scheme, the developer is only seeking in-principle approval at this stage, with all matters other than access to be determined at a later stage of the planning process.

Access would be achieved by altering the existing entrance to the site and adding a new set of traffic lights to the existing junction.

For further information see application reference WD/2024/2258/MAO on the Wealden District Council website.