11.106
Object
Proposed Submission Development and Site Allocations (DaSA) Local Plan
Representation ID: 24280
Received: 07/12/2018
Respondent: East Field Action Group
Legally compliant? No
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? Yes
37 houses in Fairlight are not required, currently there are 29 properties for sale. If there were a shortage, houses would sell more quickly.
This is a case of RDC trying to offload people from other areas, not a case of local requirements.
The parish has just 5 people/households seeking social housing, the Market Garden Site will provide more than enough affordable housing to cater for those on the list.
If there IS a demand for these houses then why after being allocated for over 12 years has the Market Garden Site still not been developed? Fairlight parish has a steady flow of houses, of all types & sizes coming to market, these never sell quickly, further indication of lack of demand.
Should RDC choose to allocate development here & move people away from their current social & family connections, it will further disadvantage them as the disconnection will isolate them. Many older people who don't drive rely on friends/family as the bus service is both inadequate & infrequent. People without local connections will become isolated & could suffer hardships or health issues.
Houses need to be built in the right places, not just anywhere that is offered for development.
How is this quantity reached?
It is not a research led decision, any research would have shown that there is no requirement for 37 houses in Fairlight, currently there are 29 properties for sale, priced between £120,000 & £1. 1, 000,000, if we include the wider parish then this figure grows to around 55 properties, if there were a shortage then we would see much quicker sale times.
This is a case of RDC trying to offload people from other areas, not a case of local requirements.
"Fairlight Parish, which also includes Fairlight Cove and Friar's Hill, exhibits a level of housing need typical of rural Rather. It also has a typical level of social housing within the existing stock, but a relatively low level of demand from the housing register." (RDC local development framework) The parish has just 5 people/households seeking social housing, the Market Garden Site FC1 will provide more than enough affordable housing to cater for those on the list, is it just take the total for RDC & split it?
Furthermore, if there IS a demand for these houses then why after being allocated for over 12 years has the Market Garden Site still not been developed, were there really such a shortage then the developer would rush to complete the build & bank the profits. Fairlight parish has a steady flow of houses, of all types & sizes coming to market due to the demise or health decline of older residents, these never sell quickly, further indication of lack of demand.
Should RDC choose to allocate development here & move people away from their current social & family connections, it will further disadvantage them as the disconnection will isolate them. Without a car it is easy to become completely cut off. Many older people who don't drive rely on friends/family to take them shopping & to the doctors or hospital, as the bus service is both inadequate & infrequent. People without local connections will become isolated & could suffer associated hardships financial, psychological & emotional, leading to depression or other health related issues putting further pressure on strained NHS services. This is a case of building to satisfy politics & policies with disregard to the people involved or the effects on their lives, planners & developers need to build houses in the right places not just anywhere that is offered for development, have no lessons been learned from the past.