Whilst it is accepted that Battle and Rye have limited capacity to accommodate additional development this is not the case in respect of the Rural Service Centres.

For example, Robertsbridge has greater potential than is currently being utilised in the draft Core Strategy (i.e. 109-119 dwellings - Figure 12).

The village is capable of accommodating at least double this quantum without having any material adverse imapct on the ANOB.

An example would be the land available at Grove Farm which although allocated for only 30 dwellings in Local Plan Policy VL7 and 35 dwellings in the SHLAA has a capacity of about 90 dwellings.

In circumstances where the Bexhill/Hastings link road does not receive funding the Council should re-allocate the link road dependent housing to other parts of the District in order to ensure that the District's housing need is met.

Robertsbridge is rightly identified as a local service centre in terms of the advice in Policy EC6.2 of PPS4 and can make a bigger contribution than is currently attributed to it in the draft Core Strategy.

Further, the village serves a large hinterland in the northern part of the District. Modest additional development in the village would strengthen its sustainability and the services and facilities it provides to the surroundubg rural area.