RDC has not taken CJEU judgment of People over Wind and Sweetman v Coillte Teoranta (April 2018) into account in connection with the site's immediate proximity to the Pevensey Levels. Therefore, before this site (BEX9) can be included in the DaSA local plan, a full appropriate assessment must be carried out. RDC cannot assume that an appropriate assessment will automatically be approved by a statutory authority.

The Environment Agency has submitted a list of objections (20 November 2018) requiring the proposed development off Spindlewood Drive (BEX9) to be re-evaluated and groundwater levels to be fully monitored to take account of seasonal fluctuations in order to evaluate the effects of groundwater displacement on the hydrological regime for the SAC/Ramsar site (Pevensey Levels). This has not yet been done.

The Environment Agency has stated that the SuDS scheme proposed by Aspect Ecology/Herringtons is not sufficient and that many specific improvements are required. The Environment Agency has also expressed considerable concern re potential damage to the Pevensey levels.

Due to the concerns expressed by the Environment Agency and Natural England (the two statutory authorities involved) and the necessity for an appropriate assessment to be provided by RDC and accepted by these two agencies before any planning approval can be given for BEX9, it is clear that this site cannot possibly be included in the current DaSA.

The absence of a valid appropriate assessment means that the inclusion of BEX9 cannot conform to the deliverability test required In DaSA land allocation for this particular site. It should, therefore, be removed from the DaSA.