Local Plan Review: Preferred Approach 2016-2035

Policy S5 proposes to allocated a further 125 houses to the parish of Loxwood in addition to the 60 already allocated in the Loxwood Neighbourhood Plan (LNP). Including windfalls this will add a further 200 houses over the period 2018 to 2035. All of the new houses will be built in the village of Loxwood which equates to approx. 40% increase in the number of houses over a period of 17 years. This is not considered sustainable in accordance with the NPPF and CDC's own draft Local Plan (LP)
Page 35 of the LP defines sustainable development as:
1)The pattern of need and demand for housing and employment across the area;
2) Infrastructure capacity and constraints, in particular relating to wastewater treatment,
Roads and transport;
3) Environmental constraints - avoiding flood risk areas, protecting the environment
4) Designations, landscape quality, the historic environment and settlement character;
5) The availability of potential housing sites, their deliverability and phasing
Loxwood does not have any medium or large scale employment opportunities thus residents have to commute by road to work. Equally, there is no viable bus service so shopping, entertainment, commuting, visits to hospital also have to be carried out by car.
The Loxwood sewer system is at capacity as defined by Southern Water responses to planning applications 17/02370/FUL (Farm Close) and discharge of condition 10 for the Nursery site 18/02247/DOC.
The Farm Close site has so far not proved viable for the developer because of the requirements of Southern water and the Nursery site was not allowed to connect directly to the main sewer because of capacity issues. Southern Water have stated that the Loxwood sewer system cannot meet the demand of a further 125 houses and have admitted that they have no intension up upgrading the system in the foreseeable future. Their priorities lie elsewhere.
Thus the allocation of a further 125 houses in Loxwood is not sustainable in accordance with the requirements of the NPPF and CDC's own draft LP.
The two other "Service Villages" in the North East Part (NEP) of the district, Kirdford and Wisborough Green have been allocated zero and 25 houses respectively in the draft LP. In the existing LP, Loxwood, Kirdford and Wisborough Green were all allocated 60 houses each. The allocation of housing in the draft LP was developer lead and the methodology carried out by CDC to determine the housing allocations was not consistent with Planning Practice Guidance which supports a more consultative approach to housing allocation in LP development. No such consultation took place. CDC adopted a dictatorial approach and would not listen to reason. Thus CDC have not followed the intent of Planning Practice Guidance for the development of a Housing and economic land availability assessment.