Rother Local Plan 2025-2042 – Development Strategy and Site Allocations

Parish Council Comments on proposed housing at PLA1.

Playden Parish Council objects to the proposed housing at this site for the following reasons:

• The proposed access onto Houghton Green Lane is unlikely to meet highway visibility requirements due to bend in the road. Currently there is a layby with cars parked which restricts the road width at the corner. These car spaces are required by local residents.
• The Lane joins the main A268 very close to the junction of the Iden Road and any increase in traffic will cause more confusion for signalling car drivers. The volume of traffic using the A268 during the weekends in summer increases considerably with tourists coming to Rye and the local beaches. There are monitoring cameras located at the brow of Rye Hill because of the traffic flow at this time of year.
• The Lane is narrow and can not be widened at the junction with the A268 due to the houses that abut the road either side.
• If houses are built the new residents will also drive towards Playden Primary School and the Military Road. The Lane is narrow and in most areas not a full two lanes width and will become more hazardous for children attending the school.
• The Lane has ditches down its length and there are deep ruts (very muddy in wet weather) off the tarmacked surface.
• The lane is prone to potholes which though regularly repaired soon appear again. This is in part due to water which can flow across the road but also due to the increasing and heavier cars and vans which use the lane to cut through between the A268 and the Military Road.
• The Lane is unrestricted (national speed limit 60) and the school users have complained regarding speeding cars going past the school. East Sussex County Council have been asked for a reduction of speed in the area of the school which has been refused.
• Street lighting. If street lighting was installed for the new housing, this would affect the dark traditional environment of the area and have an affect on wildlife.
• Water flow in heavy rain. In times of heavy rainfall the ditches and lower stream are full. Any new housing higher up the lane and the concreting over of fields will cause problems for housing further down the Lane.
• Unlike most local villages Playden is a dispersed village lying along several country lanes as well as along the A268. There is no modern estate development as newer housing has been dispersed throughout the parish. Therefore a development of houses of this number would be out of keeping with the existing settlement.
• If any development were to occur on this site the provision of parking for the WI Hall and at a distance no further than currently is most important. Due to the narrow Lane there is no alternative area for users to park. If the same provision was not provided the WI Hall could not survive and would cease to exist. It is the only social and assembly space in the parish used by a variety users. The car park is also used as an overflow car park at weekends for users of the Waterworks tap room - the microbrewery on the opposite side of the A268. A very successful local startup (an addition to the successful Waterworks pub in Rye) and employer. This would also be affected.
• Playden Oast Hotel to the South is a listed building and its setting will be affected by this development.

Parish Council Comments on proposed housing at PLA2

Playden Parish Council objects to the proposed housing at this site for the following reasons:

• New England Lane is a narrow lane and in parts sunken between steep boundaries and descends towards the cliff above the Military Road where the lane terminates.
• The proposed site will enter onto the top end of the lane, however sightlines would be restricted without having a widening of the road.
• The junction of the lane with the main road (A268) is close to several roads opposite. The Rye memorial Hospital site is a busy junction with the doctor’s surgery, the retirement complex and Hub on the Hill. This will become busier when the 60 bed nursing home is eventually completed on the same site.
• Street lighting. If street lighting was installed for the new housing, this would affect the dark traditional environment of the area and have an effect on wildlife.
• Water flow in heavy rain. In times of heavy rainfall the ditches and lane run with water. Any new housing higher up the lane and the concreting over of fields will cause problems for housing further down the Lane.
• Unlike most local villages Playden is a dispersed village lying along several country lanes as well as along the A268. There is no modern estate development as newer housing has been dispersed throughout the parish. Therefore a development of houses of this number would be out of keeping with the existing parish settlement and will visually decrease the green gap between Playden and Rye
• The additional population from the housing will put further strain on the local doctor’s surgery especially when the nursing home is completed.
• The site will impact the setting of Playden Church (a grade 1 listed building) which is set back from the A268 down a driveway. The development will be noticeable from the church being only a garden away and will affect its setting.
• This site is within an archaeological notification area and destruction of below ground deposits will occur if the site is developed.