The proposed housing allocation for Loxwood is excessive and not in line with the requirement to deliver sustainable development, nor with the Council's own criteria for sustainability. 125 new houses are proposed, in addition to the 60 allocated in the current Neighbourhood Plan. This equates to an increase of 45% over a 20 year period, based on the current number of houses (450).
An increase in housing of this magnitude is not sustainable for Loxwood. The biggest issue in my view is the lack of adequate infrastructure, particularly in relation to waste water; the system in the village is already at capacity and Southern Water does not intend to increase its provision in its 2020-2025 plan. The village is in a flood risk area, which would only be exacerbated by extensive development such as that proposed in the Draft Plan. There is no significant employment in the village which means that new inhabitants would join the many commuters already travelling along the poorly maintained B2133 every day, increasing congestion and air pollution in the village; there is almost no public transport provision (one badly timed bus a day). Facilities in the village are minimal: a small shop/post office and a butcher, so that more car journeys would need to be made for shopping purposes. For all these reasons, the Draft Plan can not be considered Sound within the meaning of the National Planning Policy Framework.
In drafting its plan, CDC has allowed its proposals to be driven by submissions of potential sites by developers, without allocating houses fairly across neighbouring parishes. For example the much larger and better serviced settlement of Wisborough Green has been allocated just 25 houses, 100 fewer than Loxwood. This approach by CDC is not in line with national planning guidance which requires district councils to carry out "desktop" studies of potential housing sites.