Closed: Have your say on future development in Lewes district

Please note, in addition to below we are also consulting over the Lewes District Council Corporate plan until Sunday 31 December 2023, which is a separate consultation.

This consultation is about gathering your views, and evidence the sites and our suggested policies, which together will form the spatial strategy and policies. The draft Local Plan, when published in spring 2024 will then set out the policies and framework for new homes, employment space and community facilities. 

This consultation document's plan policies are evidence-led, with the information gathered informing where development, such as new homes, employment space and community facilities, could be appropriate and where it is not.

The government gives every local planning authority council an annual housing target for new homes to build - the target for Lewes district is 602 homes per year (outside of the National Park), double the previous target. 

However, the evidence gathered so far by the council, including 42,000 representations from residents and organisations that followed the 'call for sites' and issues and options documentation, shows that a maximum of 210 homes a year would be deliverable.

Councillor Zoe Nicholson, Leader of Lewes District Council, said:

"Community involvement remains crucial if we are to show the government what housing numbers are genuinely sustainable in Lewes district's planning area.

"While many sites are being assessed and consulted upon, residents should not take anything for granted. This is a long process that will lead to all the evidence we have gathered being examined by the government's planning inspector before the new local plan is formally adopted."

Having been considered at Full Council on 20 November 2023, the public consultation is running from 29 November 2023 to 19 February 2024 and includes a range of opportunities for people to have their say.

Councillor Laurence O'Connor, Cabinet Member for Planning, said: "This consultation gives residents an opportunity to really get under the skin of the document and share their views on it.

"This stage of the local plan is much more than just a road map for where homes and businesses will be developed in the future. 

"Using the vast amount of evidence our officers have so far collected, it informs a raft of policies that are key to deciding planning applications received by the council in the future."

Drop-in events and exhibitions across the district, online feedback, use of council social media to highlight key themes, webinars for parish councils, the deposit of documents in key locations for inspection and a webinar for all district councillors, are all part of the consultation process.

In this latest stage of consultation, we would like to hear your thoughts about are how we can:

• limit the impacts of climate change
• maintain the natural environment
• provide homes for everyone
• regenerate the coastal towns
• support the economy in the villages and rural areas
• provide infrastructure and community facilities
• build decent homes that people want to live in
• how we can improve the water quality of our rivers

Take part in the consultation and read the consultation document

Published Wednesday 29 November 2023