Although mainly a brownfield site, Northeye should only be considered for redevelopment if it can be shown without doubt that there will never be any damage to the integrity of the nearby Pevensey Levels and that consequent traffic from the housing development onto Barnhorn Road will be very small.
As RDC stated in its statement for the RR/2016/3206/P appeal, the traffic on Barnhorn Road is relentless. Long queues of vehicles back from Little Common past Coneyburrow Lane are frequent. Coneyburrow Lane is a very narrow, often single-track lane off Barnhorn Road, the beginning section of which is the access/exit road for Northeye. There have been several accidents on Barnhorn Road by Coneyburrow Lane because it is very difficult to drive onto the south side of Barnhorn Road from Coneyburrow Lane, Coneyburrow Lane is often used by drivers wanting to avoid the long queue into Little Common, frequently causing blockages because the lane is too narrow for vehicles to pass one another.
This means that any redevelopment of the site should only be allowed if another road from Northeye to Ninfield or north Bexhill is built.
Barnhorn Road is already operating near capacity as shown by the lengthy delays to vehicles attempting to travel along it. Little Common roundabout is a bottle neck so the stop-start traffic along Barnhorn Road is producing considerable air pollution, particularly in peak hours.
The above means that the inclusion of BEX10 in the DaSA local plan needs very careful consideration and must have strongly worded conditions attached. Otherwise, it should be removed from the local plan.