Hellingly development of 351 homes off New Road approved by Wealden District Council

On Thursday (January 26), Wealden District Council’s Planning Committee South approved a reserved matters application on plans to build 351 homes on land to the west of Park Farm, off of New Road.

The scheme was granted outline planning permission in 2021, meaning the principle of developing the site has already been established. However, the scheme has remained controversial with residents, leading to a significant number of objections.

Many of the objections revolved around flooding issues, both on the site itself and in Hellingly as a whole, partly due to issues with the sewage system in the area.

These concerns were taken up by ward councillor David White (Ind), who said: “The main sewer and pumping station in Station Road, to which it is proposed that this development should be joined, failed at the beginning of November, resulting in properties being inundated with untreated sewage.”

He went on to call on the committee to delay making its decision until Southern Water could provide details of the impact of the scheme on its system.

This argument clearly had support among several committee members, with some expressing concerns about the impact of further failures on public health.

However, officers reiterated warnings that — without an objection from Southern Water, which has an obligation to connect new houses to its system — such concerns around sewage infrastructure would not provide legal reasons for refusing the scheme.

The committee went on to discuss other flooding concerns, specifically surface water flooding caused by heavy rain. During this discussion, Officers said there was evidence the development would actually alleviate these issues, as a result of its drainage works.

Following further debate, the application was approved, albeit only after coming down to the chairman’s casting vote.

Proposing approval, Cllr Johanna Howell (Con) said: “If we go to an inspector — and we have to talk about that at this committee — these reasons won’t hold up.”

The application was the second reserved matters proposal for the site. The first was refused under delegated powers last year, due to officer concerns around its layout, architecture and landscaping as well as its surface water drainage scheme. These issues had been addressed, officers said.