Although I am a member of the Loxwood Parish Council, I am writing as a resident of Loxwood to object to the draft local plan. Loxwood has a Neighbourhood Plan under which 60 new houses are to be constructed. These are currently being built or are going through the planning process. Under the CDC Revised Local Plan an additional 125 houses are proposed in Loxwood and whilst I acknowledge that some additional new houses could be accommodated I believe that an additional 125 would be unsustainable for the following reasons:
1. The process used to assess the housing numbers has been flawed with housing allocation developer and land owner led. There are a number of villages similar in size and amenities to Loxwood in the North of Plan area with development potential which have not been selected for additional housing. In particular these are Wisborough Green, Kirdford, Ifold and Plaistow where additional housing numbers are either zero or minimal. I strongly believe that additional housing requirements should be catered for evenly across all similar service villages.
2. The foul sewer system in Loxwood is inadequate for the current level of development within the village and without substantial upgrade will be unsuitable for any new development. I understand from LPC discussions with Southern Water there are currently no plans to upgrade the system within the next 5 - 10 years.
3. In addition expansion of Loxwood is unsustainable from an employment, public transport or educational perspective. There are no employment opportunities in the village, the Loxwood Primary School is near capacity and bus services through the village are virtually non-existent.
In summary I believe that the reasons given above make expansion of the village to the extent currently proposed unsustainable.