Concerns Over Infrastructure and Development in Polegate and Willingdon

We as a Group are very concerned about the cumulative impact of further development on infrastructure in Polegate, Willingdon and the surrounding area.

We have listened carefully to the significant number of objections and concerns raised by residents, including residents living outside our divisions.

Having reconsidered the implications for Polegate, Willingdon and the surrounding area, we voted against the Local Plan proposal.

Concerns About Development in Polegate and Willingdon

The Local Plan includes a number of sites in and around Polegate and Willingdon

These include:

•    Royal Mail Delivery Office, 74 High Street – 8 dwellings

•    Polegate Station Car Park – 25 dwellings

•    Hindsland Fields (west) – 60 dwellings

•    Hindsland Fields (east) – 30 dwellings

The Royal Mail Delivery Office and Polegate Station Car Park sites together provide for 33 homes. These proposals have previously attracted strong objections from local residents and the Town Council.

The two Hindsland Fields sites provide for a further 90 dwellings.

There are also proposals for a further 40 homes at Mornings Mill Farm, adding to the cumulative pressure from development in the wider area.

Our concern is not simply the number of houses proposed on any one individual site. It is the cumulative impact of development on the existing communities of Polegate and Willingdon and on the infrastructure that residents rely upon every day.

Pressure on Roads and Traffic

One of our principal concerns is the pressure on the local road network.

The A2270 Eastbourne Road is already experiencing increasing congestion, with completed and ongoing developments contributing to additional traffic movements.

This is a real and ongoing concern for residents who use the road every day.

Residents should not have to accept a situation where additional housing is approved without properly understanding how the cumulative increase in traffic will affect existing roads and junctions.

Further development is also expected, including the new supermarket and planned medical facility.

Residents have already raised concerns about accessing and leaving some of the newer housing developments, and these issues need to be properly considered before further development is added to the area.

The Local Plan Evidence Raises Its Own Concerns

Importantly, these concerns are not based solely on what residents are telling us.

The Local Plan’s own Sustainability Appraisal identifies issues concerning access to the Hindsland Fields sites.

The assessment identifies that the sites do not currently have suitable vehicular access and that development is likely to require off-site highway works.

It also identifies the need for further transport studies to establish the nature and extent of the necessary highway improvements.

In addition, the assessment identifies the need for significant upgrading of access and improved pedestrian links to Eastbourne Road.

These are important findings because they demonstrate that infrastructure and access issues have already been identified within the evidence supporting the Local Plan.

Housing Must Be Supported by Infrastructure

We recognise the need for new homes and understand the importance of having a Local Plan that provides for future housing requirements.

However, housing numbers cannot be considered in isolation.

New development needs to be properly supported by the infrastructure necessary to make those communities work.

That includes:

•    roads and junctions;

•    pedestrian and cycling infrastructure;

•    drainage and sewerage;

•    medical services;

•    schools and other community facilities; and

•    other essential infrastructure required to support a growing population.

The question is therefore not simply how many homes can be built, but whether the necessary infrastructure can be delivered alongside that growth.

Why We Voted Against the Local Plan Proposal

Following our detailed review of the published Local Plan evidence, together with the concerns raised by residents, we concluded that we could not support the proposal in its current form.

Our decision was not a vote against housing or against development in principle.

It was a decision based on concerns about the cumulative impact of development and whether the necessary infrastructure improvements can be delivered to support that growth.

In particular, we have serious concerns about the additional 90 homes proposed at Hindsland Fields, together with the 40 homes at Mornings Mill Farm, when considered alongside the other housing already completed, committed or proposed in Polegate and the surrounding area.

We voted against the Local Plan because we believe residents deserve clear evidence that the roads, junctions, drainage, sewerage, medical services and other essential infrastructure will have sufficient capacity to support the level of development being proposed.

Development should be accompanied by the infrastructure needed to support it, rather than leaving existing communities to deal with the consequences afterwards.

Our Position

We remain supportive of responsible and sustainable development and recognise the need for new housing.

However, we cannot support additional housing proposals where there are unresolved questions about access, transport and infrastructure capacity.