Just hours before hundreds of Lewes residents took to the streets to protest about housing plans for the town the council issued a defiant statement which said people had 'exagerated' the problems caused by new homes.

Cllr Peter Gardiner, the district council's lead councillor for planning, said: 'It is time to scotch exaggerated claims that Lewes as a town is 'over-developed'.

'Looking back over the last ten years, the average annual house building rate in the town was 32 dwellings.

'This is very small when compared to the existing number of dwellings in the town, and a much lower annual build rate than other nearby towns like Seaford or Newhaven.'

Cllr Gardiner insisted development on 'brownfield' sites were necessary to meet the need for housing.

He said: 'Outward expansion of the town is strictly controlled by national landscape designations and the floodplain of the Ouse.

'However, there are brownfield sites that are either vacant, derelict or under used.

'These would deteriorate further if potential developers do not come forward with ideas and plans to develop them in the future.

'There is a need to provide good quality housing within our towns that gives residents easy access to everyday services and public transport links.

'This must be better than putting houses in less accessible places where people are heavily dependent on the car, and then cause CO2 emissions and contribute to climate change.

'We also need to remember that there are acute housing needs in Lewes and that the larger development sites are our main source of new affordable housing for local people.'

He added that all potential developments on areas of land in areas at risk from flooding were subject to 'rigorous testing'.

'We can, and do, refuse planning permission for inappropriate developments.

'For example, we will be fighting a planning appeal in June against a major residential development on the floodplain in Lewes.'