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

Support

Representation ID: 31088

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Acknowledge that the Standard Method identifies a minimum housing need of 912 dwellings per year for Rother, a significant increase on the adopted Local Plan requirement. Recognise the considerable environmental and physical constraints across the district and the difficulty of meeting this need in full. Support the Council’s approach to maximising delivery through higher densities, extensions to existing allocations and new site allocations where appropriate. In particular, support optimisation of delivery at suitably located sites such as Land at Northeye, where increased capacity beyond the adopted policy can be achieved in a deliverable and market‑responsive way, helping ensure the Plan is effective and sound.

Support

Representation ID: 31089

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Support the timely delivery of infrastructure alongside housing, and the use of an Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) to coordinate this. Emphasise that infrastructure requirements must be proportionate, evidence‑led and compliant with CIL Regulation 122, particularly for complex brownfield sites such as Land at Northeye which already have an adopted allocation. The IDP should clearly distinguish site‑specific infrastructure from district‑wide or growth‑area infrastructure and reflect differing site constraints and viability. A single, uniform approach will not be appropriate across the West Bexhill Growth Area. The IDP should be refined to identify precise infrastructure requirements for each allocation to avoid delaying housing delivery.

Support

Representation ID: 31090

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Support the need to deliver new sports pitches in West Bexhill but object to requiring their provision at Land at Northeye (BX28). There is no existing publicly accessible pitch on the site, and evidence in the HELAA and IDP acknowledges that provision here may no longer be appropriate and that alternative locations should be considered. Requiring pitches at BX28 would undermine site deliverability, constrain housing capacity and conflict with brownfield‑first objectives. A consolidated sports‑pitch strategy elsewhere in West Bexhill would be more effective, viable and consistent with national policy, while enabling early housing delivery at Northeye.

Support

Representation ID: 31091

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Support clearer differentiation between infrastructure funded via Section 106 and that funded through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). The Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) should explicitly identify which schemes are to be delivered by CIL and which by Section 106 to avoid ambiguity and double‑counting. This would provide transparency and certainty for site promoters and align with established practice that Section 106 addresses site‑specific impacts, while CIL funds strategic infrastructure. Given the acknowledged need to update the IDP and prepare an Infrastructure List, the revised IDP should clearly inform future CIL allocations. Engagement with developers as infrastructure funding and the CIL charging schedule are reviewed is welcomed.

Support

Representation ID: 31092

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Support the Council’s approach of optimising housing density where appropriate to help meet identified housing needs, and endorse progressing Option B as the preferred strategy. However, density should not be applied rigidly and must respond to site‑specific characteristics such as landscape context, topography, settlement edges, local character, market demand and viability. On some sites, maximising the developable area rather than increasing density may represent a more effective use of land. Draft policy wording should explicitly allow flexibility in density to ensure high‑quality placemaking, deliverability and alignment with national policy objectives for efficient land use while respecting local context.

Support

Representation ID: 31093

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Support the overarching development strategy, including the identification of growth areas and a range of site sizes to meet housing needs identified in the HEDNA. The approach is consistent with national policy by providing a sufficient variety of land to meet different housing requirements across the district. Support Bexhill as a key focus for development as the largest and most sustainable settlement, alongside distributed growth in other towns and villages. West Bexhill is supported as a logical and sustainable location for future development, as evidenced by the Council’s technical studies.

Support

Representation ID: 31094

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Support the vision and overall development strategy for Bexhill as the district’s primary focus for residential growth, including the designation of the West of Bexhill Growth Area and Land at Northeye (BX28) as a suitable location for future housing. Support the ‘Live Well Locally’ approach as a positive framework for planned growth. Infrastructure provision is essential, but should distinguish between site‑specific measures and wider strategic infrastructure funded through CIL, particularly given Northeye’s early delivery role. Coordinated masterplanning and potential design coding are supported in principle, provided they are achievable, recognise multiple landownerships, and do not delay early housing delivery.

Support

Representation ID: 31095

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Strongly support the designation of West of Bexhill as a Growth Area and the inclusion of a dedicated infrastructure policy. However, Policy BX18 requires greater clarity and nuance to ensure it is effective and deliverable. Infrastructure responsibilities should not be applied generically across all sites; instead, requirements must be evidence‑based, site‑specific and compliant with CIL Regulation 122. Coordination should be achieved through the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and Infrastructure Funding Statements rather than mandatory Growth Area‑wide masterplanning or design coding that could delay delivery. Wastewater upgrades for long‑allocated sites such as Northeye are the statutory responsibility of providers and should not impede housing delivery.

Support

Representation ID: 31096

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Strongly support the re‑allocation of Land at Northeye and its role within the West of Bexhill Growth Area, but object to combining it with adjoining parcels into a single allocation. The sites differ in ownership, levels, constraints and delivery timescales, and joint allocation risks delaying early delivery at Northeye. Separate allocations with site‑specific policies would improve deliverability and plan soundness. Support high‑quality placemaking at Northeye, but policy BX28 requires amendments to ensure infrastructure obligations are proportionate, evidence‑based, viability‑tested, compliant with CIL Regulation 122 and national policy, and do not duplicate development‑management requirements.

Object

Representation ID: 31097

Received: 23/03/2026

Respondent: Homes England

Agent: WSP

Draft Policy BX28 Wording:
Affordable housing (Criterion i): Should be subject to viability testing, recognising brownfield remediation costs.
Infrastructure (Criterion ii): Must apply only where necessary to make the site acceptable, not to fund wider Growth Area needs.
Landscape (Criterion iii): Replace “protection” with wording requiring development to be sympathetic to the landscape setting, in line with national policy.
Community uses / sports pitches (Criterion viii): Remove specific reference to pitches unless justified by evidence; retain flexibility to determine uses via the IDP.
Flood risk (Criterion xi): Require a Flood Risk Assessment, not prescriptive avoidance wording; allow detailed modelling at application stage.
Duplication (Criteria xiii & xiv): Archaeology and sewer connections are standard development‑management matters and should not be repeated in allocation policy.
External bodies: References to consultees should be removed; engagement is a matter for the application stage.