New 30-home development approved in Horsted Keynes despite massive opposition in village

The application from Rydon Homes Ltd for land south of St Stephen’s Church, in Hamsland, was given the nod during a meeting of the planning committee on Thursday (July 6).

The development will be made up of a mix of one-bedroom flats and two, three and four-bedroom houses, with 30 per cent of the homes classed as affordable.

The council received more than 260 objections to the plans, with concerns raised about everything from light pollution and visibility going to and from the site, to over-development and the loss of a greenfield site.

Questions were also asked about whether the ownership of the land included the access to the site – but the council’s legal team confirmed that it did.

Janice Henwood (Lib Dem, Burgess Hill Franklands) raised the issue of renewable energy, saying it was one of the main issues which should always be considered.

While Rydon Homes will have to meet building regulations – which include the fitting of solar panels to most new homes – a report to the committee said a sustainability statement submitted with the application had been ‘somewhat non-committal’ about what would rather than could be put in place.

A condition was included in the planning permission which said that no homes would be built until the sustainability statement set out clearly what would be included to help minimise the amount of energy that the buildings would use.

The plans were approved by ten votes to one with one abstention.

To view the application, log on to pa.midsussex.gov.uk and search for DM/20/4692.