Proposed Submission Core Strategy

Wealden District Council welcomes the Proposed Submission Core Strategy for Rother District and supports the approach taken of balancing all requirements in the provision of growth. In particular supports the critical nature of timely infrastructure delivery to support economic and housing growth both in Rother District and within the Sussex Coast sub region and the necessary implications that this has upon the scale and pace of growth that can be accommodated.
8. The consideration of the change in circumstances from when the South East Plan was being developed to the current situation is considered to be a valid approach in the development of the Core Strategy. By the very nature and legislative requirements of the assessments and evidence required for Local Development Frameworks, the analysis and conclusions will be more detailed, locally valid and up to date than that of the Regional Spatial Strategy. The Regional Spatial Strategy does acknowledge this fact however and has a range of policies concerning sustainable development, including provision of infrastructure, and housing provision which need to be considered in this context. The Proposed Submission Core Strategy is based on what is considered by Rother District Council to be a robust and current evidence base of deliverability and sustainability considerations and therefore this approach is supported.

Wealden District Council suggests further clarification is provided of the specific circumstances and timescales which would instigate a review/ partial review of the Core Strategy in terms of housing requirements and assessment of the level of growth possible in the event of the link road not proceeding.
10. The Link Road is also an important feature for the general regeneration of the Sussex Coast Sub Region, also providing opportunities for the residents of Wealden, through its capacity to facilitate an increase in economic growth in the area. The delay of such infrastructure provision will therefore have a wider impact on the Sussex Coast Sub Region and the potential impact on the capacity for regeneration of the Sussex Coast Sub Region is of relevance to Wealden. The Proposed Submission Core Strategy currently assumes that the Link Road will be delivered in a timely manner, and therefore the approach of necessary re-assessment outlined in Policy OSS2 of Rother's Strategy is considered to be wholly consistent with the South East Plan Policy CC7, which states the scale and pace of development will depend on additional capacity being released. However, further clarification as to the timescales and conditions of instigating a review as proposed in Policy OSS2 and the precise form it will take, such as a partial review of the Core Strategy, is considered necessary to support this policy.