Next stage for Mid Sussex housing and employment allocations plan

Mid Sussex District Council’s Development Plan Document (DPD) recommends 22 housing and seven employment sites as well as a science and technology park.

The document’s role is to show how the council plans to meet the district’s outstanding housing and employment needs up to 2031.

It was scrutinised by a planning inspector at hearing sessions in June and a small number of modifications have been suggested to some policies to clarify and strengthen then.

The council is now holding an eight-week consultation on the proposed modifications, which started yesterday (Monday November 29) and runs until January 24.

The inspector has not suggested the removal of any of the council’s preferred sites and comments at this stage must be focused only on the suggested modifications.

Early next year the inspector is due to consider all the comments and provide his final report.

Robert Salisbury, cabinet member for housing and planning at MSDC, said: “I am delighted the inspector has suggested so few modifications to the Sites DPD, following an extremely thorough examination of all the evidence.

“It is testament to the robust way the council has approached this plan that he is not suggesting any sites are removed from it.

“This is excellent news as failing to plan for growth and maintain an up-to-date supply of agreed housing sites would mean uncontrolled development across the district, which is in not in our community’s interests.

“There is now an opportunity to comment on the inspector’s modifications, and the council looks forward to receiving the inspector’s final report early in the new year.”

While the district plan for 2014-2031 was agreed in 2018, the council was left needing to find extra sites to fully meet its housing requirements.

The site allocations DPD allocates 22 housing sites totalling 1,764 dwellings.

The largest sites are 550 homes on land south and west of Imberhorne Upper School, 200 homes south of Crawley Down Road (both East Grinstead), 300 homes south of Folders Lane and Keymer Road as well as 200 homes at St Wilfrid’s School (both Burgess Hill)

Meanwhile when it comes to employment, the science and technology park north of the A2300 near Burgess Hill aims to create at least 2,500 jobs,

Further details, including the main modifications and how to respond to the consultation, are online at www.midsussex.gov.uk/SitesDPD