Around 950 homes will be built every year in Wealden district for the next decade in proposals laid out in a Local Plan.
Councillors on the East Sussex authority’s planning committee voted last week to support a modified version of their emerging plan.
This new draft plan identifies the need for 14,228 dwellings to be delivered by 2028. This is 25 per cent higher than a previous draft, which stated the need for 11,456.
The development of the plan has been delayed as councillors decided on to how best safeguard Ashdown Forest. This is a Special Area of Conservation and has an area of 9.5 miles. It includes the Five Hundred Acre Wood, which inspired the two classic Winnie the Pooh books.
At this stage it has not been stated where homes will be built.
Instead, the council has listed areas where development would be possible.
Areas listed as a possibility include: Frant, Bells Yew Green, Mark Cross and Heathfield.
The council has confirmed residential development will not be permitted within 400 metres of Ashdown Forest Special Protection Area, unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Cllr Ann Newton pictured], the district council’s Cabinet member for Planning, said: ‘Our proposals are in line with the latest Government aims to meet the widespread housing need.
‘Mitigation measures and a thorough review system will ensure that the growth and prosperity needed in Wealden does not conflict with our many environmental responsibilities.
‘These include Ashdown Forest, one of the largest stretches of lowland heath in Britain; the Lewes Chalk Downs and the Pevensey Levels.
‘Developers will be expected to install certain infrastructure items on site and make a contribution to ensure this protection succeeds.’
A council document adds: ‘The document contains a range of environmental measures to ensure growth can proceed without causing irreversible damage to our regionally important ecology.’
After Wealden District Council’s committee approved the draft, it has been put forward for the full council to consider on Wednesday, July 18.
If they give the go ahead, it will go out to public consultation before being submitted to the government for examination.
