Proposals for major Hailsham housing development approved

On Thursday (February 29), Wealden District Council’s Planning Committee South approved an application seeking permission to build 95 new homes on land to the east of Battle Road.

Councillors had previously resolved to refuse the scheme in November, but this decision was not carried through due to what the council described as “a procedural irregularity in relation to declaration of interest.”

The previous refusal had been based on concerns about the impact of the development on the highway network and uncertainty surrounding long-awaited road improvements in the area.

These concerns formed a significant part of the fresh debate, with councillors ultimately opting to tie the grant of planning permission to funding for the improvement works being confirmed.

This will be done through a ‘Grampian-style’ condition; a way councils can grant planning permission but prevent construction from taking place until a specific set of circumstances have been met.

Suggesting the condition, Cllr David White (Ind): “Yes, individually this doesn’t create its own problems, but cumulatively in relation to what we have already granted it does create a problem.”

He added: “I don’t disagree that this is a site that should be brought forward for development; it is a sensible site, I think it is probably a bit pedestrian in the sense it is a straight run of houses … but I don’t disagree that it will deliver houses that we actually need.

“But what I think it will do, at the moment, in the absence of those road improvements is to add to the traffic congestion.”

Officers warned councillors not to take this approach, saying it was very likely for such a condition to be overturned at appeal.

Stacey Robins, the council’s head of planning, said: “The problem here with a Grampian condition in the first instance is that we know that this scheme, on its own, does not severely impact the closest junction and does not severely impact any of the MRN [Major Route Network] junctions.

“It is only a cumulative impact and even then it is not severe. So you fail the link, the basic causal effect of this particular scheme and the wider network. That is a problem because a Grampian condition has got to work through and there be a cause and effect and a pin sharp harm that you can talk to and correct via the Grampian condition.”

He added: “The second problem with a Grampian condition (and it is probably the biggest one) is that it seeks to ignore that we are a CIL [Community Infrastructure Levy] charging authority. You can’t do that. We cannot do that.

“I get that members are fed up and annoyed and there is a lack of activity. But you can’t then seek to strengthen your control via the grants of planning permission on grants that tie up and don’t give developers certainty.”

This second tied into the fact that the council would be providing at least part of the money for the improvement works itself, using money raised through CIL on other developments.

Mr Robins went on to say that such a condition could be challenged through an appeal and, given the circumstances, would be likely to fall.

Despite this advice, committee members voted for the condition to be imposed as part of the grant of planning permission.

For further information see application reference WD/2019/2685/MAJ on the Wealden District Council website.