We have learned with some alarm about the new draft CDC Local Plan and its likely effect on Loxwood, which is in consultation phase until 7th February,
and in which a further 125 houses are allocated to Loxwood for the period 2019 to 2035 (over the next 15 years).
This we understand will be in addition to the 60 new houses already allocated in the current Local Plan.
In total therefore this could mean more than 200 new houses in the village over the same time frame.

We wish to lodge an Objection on the following grounds:

1) Loxwood is not a well-situated village for further development. For the new houses already built in the centre of the village there seems little demand.
There are almost no employment opportunities in the locality. Loxwood has no meaningful public transport with 1 bus per day to and from Guildford, and
Billingshurst and Horsham railway stations are 15-20 minutes away by car. Most meaningful shopping needs to be done in Billingshurst or Cranleigh.

2) The Sewerage system in Loxwood is already at capacity and there are no plans we know of to upgrade or improve the system. Parts of the village flood regularly both with surface and with drainage water.
On the new Nursery housing site additional sewerage holding tanks have needed to be installed.

3) The roads around and through Loxwood, especially the B2133, are already overloaded and beset with speeding traffic which pay absolutely no attention to the 30mph speed limit.
Living on the "High Street" we have personal experience of this - incessant noise, big trucks and vans as well as cars going well over the speed limit (on occasion 60-70mph). The noise pollution
this causes is a major concern to many residents. More houses will mean yet more traffic, increased pollution and increased risks of accident in the village especially in the High Street.

4) In the draft Plan there seems to have been no effort made to share the housing burden across other neighbouring villages such as Kirdford, Ifold/Plaistow and Wisborough
Green, although 2 of these are defined as "service villages" as well as Loxwood. It appears that the proposed development in the new Plan has been driven largely by developers proposing sites
when CDC called for proposals, rather than by a more careful analysis by CDC on what is a rational and sustainable approach to meeting the national need for increased housing.

Having considered all these factors therefore, we would respectfully ask CDC Planners to review their proposals re Loxwood, on the grounds that they do not meet the criteria for sustainable development
and are therefore unsound.