This was the first of our neighbourhood plan projects to be made in 2014 and we were re-appointed by the Town Council in 2018 to help it review the plan to roll it forward to align with the Local Plan that had been adopted in the meantime. The Local Plan required the plan review to allocate land for approx. 100 new homes in addition to the sites allocated in the made plan, many of which had been delivered.

 

We carried out a new site assessment process, integrating SA/SEA and the Habitats Regs, taking into account the significant heritage assets of the town and its location as a gateway to the South Downs National Park. We helped the Council allay the concerns of the local community during the engagement work, and to maximise its plan making leverage in a highly sensitive environment in making its site allocations.

 

The final plan – effectively a replacement of the first but with some retained policies – was successfully examined and backed at referendum in 2019. Within weeks the plan supported the planning authority in defending at appeal its refusal of a significant planning application. Since then, the Council has helped set up a new community land trust to deliver genuinely affordable homes on the main site allocation in the plan.