Wealden District Council submitted a planning application for the redevelopment of the former Streatfeild House site in June 2022 and planning permission was approved at the October 2022 Planning Committee.
The project has been funded in partnership with HM Government through the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF2) and Homes England.
There have been delays to the redevelopment as the building contractor who was originally appointed, went into administration. Following a further tendering process, a new building contractor, Trinity Homes has now been appointed and work has started at the site which is due to complete by Spring/Summer 2025.
The existing building has been demolished, and 20 new affordable general needs homes are being built in its place. The new development will be highly sustainable in order to deliver on the Council’s commitment to work towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The new development will achieve an A energy rating and will take a fabric first approach through design by building in technology to provide heating and hot water and insulation to reduce energy use, CO2 emissions and running costs. It will utilise low carbon technologies such as air source heat pumps and photo voltaic solar panels.
EV chargers are being provided to all homes along with cycle storage to encourage sustainable transport.
The new development will consist of:
4 x 1 bedroom apartments
10 x 2 bedroom houses
5 x 3 bedroom houses
1 x 4 bedroom house and
43 parking spaces
18 of the homes will be available to rent to local households from the Housing Register and the remaining 2 homes (2 x 2-bedroom houses) will be available to purchase on a shared ownership basis.
All homes will be accessible and adaptable and will include features that will make them suitable for a range of occupants, including older people, individuals with reduced mobility and some wheelchair users.
In addition there will be one 3 bedroom house and one 4 bedroom house that have been designed to higher accessibility standards specifically for wheelchair users with a through-floor lift and a ground floor shower room.
Each house has its own private garden and two parking spaces and every 1-bedroom flat has private outdoor space and 1 car parking space. There are also 7 visitor parking spaces.
The development has been carefully designed to fit in with the surrounding area. None of the buildings are larger than two storeys in height and traditional materials are being used to complement the existing buildings on the High Street.
The wooded area at the South of the site will be retained and enhanced as a Woodland Wildlife area to improve biodiversity.
Bat and bird boxes, bee bricks, bee friendly planting and hedgehog gateways will be provided within the site, and as many existing hedgerows and trees as possible will be retained, with additional planting and landscaping provided throughout.
