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

We support the approach in principle on the basis the Council has considered the alternative locations and is prioritising the most sustainable parts of the District for development. Some of the district’s largest rural settlements are located within this area and will benefit from some development to sustain existing and bring new services and infrastructure improvements for existing and future residents.

It’s important that any proposed sites are genuinely deliverable, have suitable access and services, and do not place unrealistic expectations on locations with known constraints. A balanced approach that meets identified need while ensuring sites are practical and sustainable will be essential.

Please see response to question 17.

We support the policy wording in principle. The draft policy is generally positive with the aim of encouraging denser forms of development within Bexhill which is well placed to accommodate new growth. We also welcome the flexibility regarding car parking and transport as it is in line with the approach encouraged by the NPPF, and on the basis that the town centre is well served by public transport, shops, services and employment opportunities.

With specific regard to density, the cap of 110 dph falls below the range identified in Figure 9 and the updated Density Study. Given the findings of the study, consideration should be given to increasing this figure to 125 dph. This will allow more dense forms of development in appropriate locations. The wording is sufficiently flexible to allow for fewer dense schemes to take account of local circumstances and characteristics. Consideration should also be given to amending the wording of the second to last paragraph (relating to conservation areas) to reference density e.g. “…responding carefully to the area’s heritage context, particularly in terms of scale, mass, street frontages and density.” This should ensure that density is a consideration when assessing schemes in the Conservation Area. Subject to this amendment, the Policy should encourage more dense schemes in appropriate locations whilst allowing a suitable level of protection for more sensitive areas.

Please see our responses to questions 9 and 10. From a review of the HELAA assessments and given the constraints identified by the Council across the District, we consider that Bexhill and the surrounding area may be well placed to accommodate more development and help meet local needs/make up the shortfall in housing supply. We welcome the fact that site assessments are ongoing and urge the Council to reconsider some HELAA sites in order to meet as much of the District’s needs in the forthcoming planning period. Failure to do so could potentially create a worse undersupply problem for the next plan period and/or a falling five-year housing supply in the forthcoming period, leading to housing policies being weakened and a larger number of appeals.