The Wealden Local Plan.

This is not a County Council responsibility, but the effects of the Plan will be so fundamental to our local area for generations to come so we must all get involved.

There are many proposals in the consultation which will affect us all but two in particular are a source of great anxiety.

One is the potential massive expansion of the Maresfield Business Park on a new 77-acre site which most people know about. It is not specifically part of the Plan, but it is part of the consultation. If we don’t resist it, we may suddenly find a planning application is approved and we can do nothing to stop it . Now is the time to act.

The other is a possible development of over 2000 houses at Owlsbury. This land goes from Buckham Hill and Rocks Road through to Little Horsted although the Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space will remain. This is on the west side of the A22 opposite the Ridgewood site which is currently being built out. This will have a profound effect on our rural area.

Again, this is not in the Plan but part of the consultation.

The two proposals will mean a new Greater Uckfield township. If we need a new township this is in the wrong place and will mean massive environmental damage.

SABRE, the group opposing the Business Park expansion, have done a huge amount of work on these and other proposals. You can find out more by contacting them on sabreowl.com or sabre2023@btinternet.com

They provide a ready way for you to respond, and we need hundreds, no thousands, of people to do.

PLEASE ACT BEFORE MAY 10^th

Local Transport Plan.

There is a very outline proposal in this Plan which suggests a dualling of the A22 Uckfield. Bypass. Having made further enquiries, I can reassure you this is not an imminent scheme. It will take years to assess, and it may never happen.

This is also true of the Uckfield to Lewes Railway line which would not even be considered until the 2030s/2040s.

Footpath 24 High Hurstwood.

Restoration of this key footpath from High Hurstwood has been a matter of concern for some time. The excellent team who put together a petition presented it to The County Council on February 6^th.

The landowner and insurers now seem to have an agreement for a way forward and we are looking for the work to begin from June onwards so that the footpath may be open again in the Autumn.

Roy Galley

March 2024

Roy Galley. cllr.roy.galley@eastsussex.gov.uk

01825 713018