Wealden District Council
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Wealden (Regulation 18) Local Plan Consultation

Wealden Local Plan Consultation Update (16 May 2024)

Thank you to all those who have made comments on the Wealden Local Plan (Regulation 18) consultation. We can confirm that the consultation closed on Friday 10th May 2024 at 5pm and no further submissions will be accepted.

Comments submitted to us prior to the consultation closing are being processed and uploaded onto our consultation portal currently. All representations are being checked in terms of the General Data Protection Order (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018. The submissions are also being checked as to whether they are defamatory. This process will take several weeks, so if your unable to see your comments online at this stage, then please check back with us at a later date, either via e-mail at planningpolicy@wealden.gov.uk or please telephone 01892 602008.

The Council will assess all the representations made through the Wealden Local Plan (Regulation 18) consultation process and will respond to individual comments at a later date in the calendar year.

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Wealden District Council is preparing a new Local Plan. The Local Plan will be the key planning document for Wealden District, excluding the area covered by the South Downs National Park Authority. The South Downs National Park has planning powers for its own area.

The Wealden Local Plan looks ahead to 2040; it will provide a vision for the district, a long-term spatial strategy for growth, including the locations where development will take place.  It will provide a range of both strategic and non-strategic policies that will guide development across the district contributing to social, environmental and economic (sustainability) goals. Once adopted, the Local Plan will form part of the Development Plan for the District, replacing all existing local plan policies and will be used to assess and make decisions on planning applications, as well as to inform investment and the provision of infrastructure. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires that “for the purpose of making any determination under the planning Acts, the determination must be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise”.

This current stage of the local plan (known as Regulation 18) sets out the Council’s draft policies and growth strategy and is an important stage in the plan-making process. It provides an early opportunity for our communities, businesses, landowners, developers, partners and stakeholders to ‘have a say’ and comment on the draft Local Plan before it is considered further and then finalised for the next (Regulation 19) consultation / representation stage.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We have prepared some Frequently asked questions about the Local Plan. You can read these here:

How to have your say

The Consultation on the Draft Local Plan will run from 5pm on Friday 15th March 2024 to 5pm on Friday 10th May 2024. Whether you have comments on the overall spatial strategy, the vision and objectives, individual site allocations and / or any of the Plan’s draft policies, we really would like to hear from you. This is your opportunity to feed into this process ahead of us developing and testing the plan further before its third and final stage in preparation (Regulation 19) and before submitting the plan to the Planning Inspectorate for Examination.

You can comment on the documents using our online consultation portal.

We have provided Guidance Notes and a video to show you how to use the portal.

All comments received via our consultation portal will receive automatic acknowledgement that they have been received by the Council.

If you do not have access to the internet, then we will accept paper copies of the questionnaire. You can ask someone to download the questionnaire from our consultation portal (see available downloads section) or obtain paper copies from the locations where you can view the Local Plan, see below.

Please email Planningpolicy@wealden.gov.uk or telephone the Planning Policy team on 01892 602008, if you would like any further information, help or assistance.

Consultation Events

Virtual Exhibition – To find out about our draft Local Plan, you can view our virtual exhibition at any time. The virtual exhibition will provide an opportunity to read through information and will provide a link so you can respond to the consultation. Our virtual exhibition is open for anyone to join at any time.

Drop-in Consultation Events – We will be holding a number of consultation events to provide an opportunity for you to find out more, find out how to respond and to ask any questions that you may have on the local plan and other consultation material.  The times, dates and locations of the ‘in person’ consultation events is provided below.

These events will take place as follows: 

Date

Venue

Address

Time

Saturday 23rd March 2024

Hailsham Civic Centre

Vicarage Lane, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 2AX

10.00AM – 16.00PM

Monday 25th March 2024

Maresfield Village Hall

Bridge Road, Maresfield, East Sussex TN22 2HJ

14.00PM – 20.00PM

Tuesday 26th March 2024

Polegate Community Centre

43 Windsor Way, Polegate, East Sussex BN26 6QF

14.00PM – 20.00PM

Saturday 13th April 2024

Uckfield Civic Centre

Council Offices, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1AE

10.00AM – 16.00PM

Wednesday 17th April 2024

Heathfield Community Centre

Sheepsetting Lane, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 0XG

14.00PM – 20.00PM

Saturday 20th April 2024

Crowborough Community Centre

Pine Grove, Crowborough, East Sussex TN6 1FE

10.00AM – 16.00PM

Monday 22nd April 2024

East Hoathly Village Hall

Church Marks Lane, East Hoathly, East Sussex BN8 6EQ

14.00PM – 20.00PM

Tuesday 23rd April 2024

Frant Memorial Hall

The Green, Frant, East Sussex TN3 9ED

14.00PM – 20.00PM

Saturday 4th May 2024

Horam Village Hall

Horam, East Sussex TN21 0JE

10.00AM – 16.00PM

Paper Copies of Consultation Documents

Paper copies of the Draft Wealden Regulation 18 Local Plan and key supporting documents are held for viewing at a number of deposit points within the district as provided below. 

Venue

Address

Opening Hours

Wealden District Council

Council Offices, Vicarage Lane, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 3AX

Monday – Friday 09.00am – 17.00pm

East Sussex County Council

County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1UE

Monday – Thursday 08.00am – 17.00pm, Friday 08.00am – 16.30pm 

Crowborough Library

Pine Grove, Crowborough, East Sussex TN61DH

Monday 12.30pm – 17.00pm Tuesday, Friday & Saturday 10.00am – 17.00pm, Wednesday 10.00am – 14.00pm Thursday 11.00am – 18.00pm 

Forest Row Library

The Community Centre, Hartfield Road, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5DZ

Monday & Thursday 14.00pm – 17.00pm, Wednesday & Saturday 10.00am – 13.00pm, Friday 13.00pm – 16.00pm 

Hailsham Library

Western Road, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 3DN

Monday & Tuesday 12 noon – 17.00pm Thursday 10.00am – 18.00pm, Friday & Saturday 10.00am – 17.00pm

Heathfield Library

21 High Street, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 8LU

Monday & Saturday 10.00am – 13.00pm, Tuesday 10.00am – 17.00pm, Thursday 14.00pm – 18.00pm, Friday 10.00am – 16.00pm

Uckfield Library

Library Way, High Street, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1AR

Monday 10.00am – 13.00pm, Tuesday, Friday & Saturday 10.00am – 16.30pm, Wednesday 14.00pm – 16.30pm, Thursday 10.00am – 18.00pm

Wadhurst Library

High Street, Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6AP

Monday & Friday 14.00pm – 16.30pm, Wednesday 10.00am – 16.30pm, Saturday 10.00am – 13.00pm 

Willingdon Library

Coppice Avenue, Lower Willingdon, East Sussex BN20 9PN

Tuesday 14.00pm – 16.00pm, Wednesday 10.00am – 12 noon, Thursday 14..00pm – 16.00pm, Saturday 10.00am – 12 noon

Crowborough Town Council Offices

Council Offices, Pine Grove, Crowborough, East Sussex TN6 1DH

Monday – Thursday 09.00am – 17.00pm, Friday 08.00am – 16.30pm 

Forest Row Parish Council Offices

The Community Centre, Hartfield, Road, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5DZ

Monday – Friday 09.00am – 14.00pm

Hailsham Town Council Offices

Inglenook, Market Street, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 2AE

Monday- Friday 10.00am – 16.00pm

Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council Offices

73 High Street, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 8HU

Monday – Friday 09.30am – 13.00pm 13.30pm = 15.00pm

Horam Parish Council Offices

The Horam Centre, 3 Bank Buildings, Horam, East Sussex TN21 0EH

Tuesday – Thursday 09.30am – 12.30pm, Friday 10.00am – 13.00pm

Maresfield Parish Council Offices

Parish Office, Social Club Building, Churchfields, High Street, Nutley, East Sussex TN22 3NA

Monday – Friday 10.00am – 12.30pm

Mayfield Parish Council Offices

The Old Manor House, High Street, Mayfield, East Sussex TN20 6AL

Monday & Friday 09.00am – 11.00am, Wednesday 09.00am – 16.00pm

Pevensey Parish Council Offices

Ethel Wood Community Centre, 129 Coast Road, Pevensey Bay, East Sussex BN24 6NS

Monday – Thursday 09.00am – 14.00pm

Polegate Town Council Offices

49 High Street, Polegate, East Sussex BN26 6AL

Monday – Friday 09.00am – 13.00pm

Uckfield Town Council Offices

Civic Centre, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 1AE

Monday – Thursday 09.00am – 17.00pm, Friday 08.00am – 16.00pm 

Willingdon & Jevington Parish Council Offices

Council Office, The Triangle, Willingdon, East Sussex BN20 9PJ

Monday – Friday 09.00am- 13.00pm