Affordable Homes
Planning Permission granted on 15th December 2011
More information about the construction programme and how to apply for one of the homes will be available shortly.
update 30 September 2011
planning application revised
Following a road safety audit and the response from West Sussex County Council’s Highway Department, the planning application was withdrawn to enable the applicant (English Rural Housing Association) to respond to concerns about the width of Hammerwood Road. A new application has now been submitted under reference 11/02918/FUL, and can be viewed here. The Design and Access Statement has been revised and the site layout plan shows an increased road width of 4.8 metres along the site frontage.
Any residents wishing to comment on the amended application can now do so online, by email or by post. The consultation expiry date is the 21st October, after which MSDC can make a decision on the application. After this date, comments can still be made by email and post until any decision is actually made; however there is no guarantee that comments made after the 21st October will arrive in time to be considered.
update 8 August 2011
At a Planning Committee meeting on 21st July, the Parish Council voted to support the application by English Rural Housing Association to build 12 affordable homes in Hammerwood Road.
The Parish Council has considered all comments & representations and concluded that the site is a suitable location. The proposed scheme will help the needs of the community and maintain the vitality of our village.
Mid-Sussex District Council (MSDC) will accept comments by post or E-mail until their North Area Planning Committee meets (usually towards the end of each month). The date has yet to be announced.
The Parish Council would encourage all who agree with this Affordable Housing initiative to E-mail to stuart.malcolm@midsussex.gov.uk or write to him at MSDC, Oaklands, Haywards Heath, RH16 1SS. In all correspondence you must include your name and address and the reference 11/01709/FUL .
Why is the Parish Council supporting this proposal?
Because there is a proven need for affordable homes in the village and these homes will provide accommodation for local people in perpetuity.
Why build the homes outside the village built up area and in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)?
Any development anywhere in the village would be within the AONB as the whole village forms part of the AONB.
The homes would be built under the rural exception site policy (Policy H5 of the Local Plan), which allows small sites outside the built-up area to be released only for the building of affordable homes for local people.
Why can’t they go somewhere else in the village?
Councillors, housing enablers and planners have together considered many potential sites for suitability and availability in line with criteria under the policy.
This involved walking around the village, reviewing maps, using local knowledge and suggestions from residents, and looking at sites offered by landowners following public requests.
Plans were prepared for a potential development in Maypole Road, but the landowner withdrew.
The Hammerwood Road site is considered to be the only suitable site available at the current time.
What about the Industrial Estate?
The estate has neither been allocated for housing nor offered for affordable housing.
It was considered by MSDC as a possible location for 36 market value homes in 2006 during the small scale housing allocations process, but was deemed unsuitable following consultation and was not included in the final shortlist.
It is currently in business use. With a single track access road and no pavement, it is not considered suitable by planning officers for affordable housing.
Who will live in the houses?
People who already live or work in the village or have close family links to the village and who cannot afford to buy or rent suitable housing on the open market.
What about road safety? Isn’t the road too narrow here?
Visibility splays and a slightly widened entrance will ensure that traffic can enter and leave the site safely.
A Road Safety Audit has been requested by West Sussex Highways Department and is being prepared.
What about the trees and wildlife?
Suitable mitigation measures will be taken to protect any wildlife and there is no reason why wild animals and birds would not visit gardens on the site, just as they visit other gardens in the village.
Trees which would need to be felled are mostly dead or of poor quality (less than 10 years expected life).
A detailed landscaping and planting scheme will ensure that the site is adequately screened and visually attractive.
Won’t this lead to hundreds more houses?
The rural exception scheme is a specific exception to planning policy, and so would not set a precedent for any future house-building.
All planning applications have to be considered on their own merits in accordance with national and local planning law and policy.
update 22 June 2011
Planning application submitted
A planning application has now been submitted by English Rural Housing Association to Mid Sussex District Council. Documents can be viewied here .
The application will be available for inspecting at the Parish Council offices after the 27th June during office hours. Please phone first as there are a large number of documents to read and limited space in the office. The documents can also be inspected at the District Council offices in Haywards Heath.
Please note that several changes have been made to the draft plans (below) in order to take account of concerns expressed during and after the Consultation event in February and discussions with the Parish Council. Changes include increased parking provision and a fenced buffer zone along the boundaries with the Abbey and Hammerwood Road.
The Parish Council is aware that many residents will wish to see the application and has arranged to make all documents available for viewing at the John Pear's Pavilion on Wednesday 6th July from 12.30 until 8 pm.
The Parish Council will consider its recommendations to MSDC at a Planning Committee meeting on the 21st July in the School Hall.
The decision whether to grant planning permission will be made by MSDC at a Planning Committee meeting on a date to be fixed.
Comments
Representations to MSDC must be made by the consultation expiry date and can be made online or by letter. All representations will appear on the MSDC website and will be public documents.
See below for background information.
Ashurst Wood Parish Council has been working with English Rural Housing Association, The Rural Housing Enabler from Action in Rural Sussex and Mid Sussex District Council on a proposal for an affordable housing development for local people.
It is proposed to build twelve homes, made up of six houses and six flats, on a one acre site in Hammerwood Road. The land was once tennis courts for Ashurst Wood Abbey school and more recently has been used for off-road driving activities .
The entrance to the development will be located opposite a field and approximately 50 metres west of the entrance to the Abbey. Many of the trees surrounding the site will be retained to provide screening for the new homes. Each property will have a garden area and allocated parking on site.
The homes will be for rent or shared ownership and will only be available for occupation by people with a connection to the village.
Residents were able to view preliminary plans, ask questions and make comments at public consultation event on the 10th February 2011. All feedback received at and after the event will be considered when the final plans are prepared.
Draft Plans:
Proposed site layout
Northern elevation to Hammerwood Road
Summary of comments made at Consultation Event.
note 24th June 2011: Please refer to planning application as changes have been made to draft plans.
Background
In 2006, the Affordable Housing Commission reported that lack of affordable housing was one of the biggest problems facing rural England and that a significant increase in the provision of affordable homes for rent and sale in rural areas was required.
In 2007, Mid-Sussex District Council developed its Rural Affordable Housing Strategy and began working with Parish Councils to help identify local need and find suitable sites for housing where needed.
Affordable Housing is housing for people who cannot meet their housing needs in the general housing market.
A Housing Needs Survey was conducted in Ashurst Wood during 2007, and this confirmed that there was both a need and a support for Affordable Homes in the village.
The Rural Exception Site policy allows for planning permission to be given for a small development of affordable homes on land which is outside a village development area and so would not normally gain permission for building – for example Green field land. This helps to keep the cost of the land down and the houses affordable. Only people from the local community are allowed to apply for the homes and they can never be sold on the open market. The homes are built and owned (or partly owned in the case of shared ownership properties) by a Registered Social Landlord (RSL), normally a housing association. The RSL receives grant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency towards development costs. Although development costs are subsidised by grant and land cost, the design and construction standards required of the housing are extremely high.
Rural Exception schemes are the result of partnership working: The District Council, Parish Council, a Housing Association work together with a Rural Housing Enabler and landowners. Ashurst Wood Parish Council has been working with English Rural Housing, Mid Sussex District Council and the enabler from Action in Rural Sussex.
Following the Housing Needs Survey, a search was made for a suitable site. This process involved identifying a number of possible sites around the village and then obtaining feedback from the District Council’s planning department on the suitability of the sites for a rural exception scheme. In 2009, plans for a proposed development on land at Box Farm, adjoining Maypole Road, were made public. Subsequently, the landowner decided to withdraw from the scheme.
Following further investigations, plans for a proposed development in Hammerwood Road were prepared.
An affordable housing scheme can make a huge contribution to the village. It not only meets the housing needs of local people, but it can help maintain the viability of services and amenities such as shops, post offices and schools. It can also help to maintain the social balance and social networks within the village.