Selling Land in Wealden

Wealden District Council, based in Hailsham, covers about 835 square kilometres, home to around 167,000 people in 2024. Its new plan counts 75 defined settlements; 55% of residents live in the five towns of Hailsham, Crowborough, Uckfield, Heathfield and Polegate.

• Two planning authorities. The council decides applications in 39 of the district's 42 parishes. The South Downs National Park Authority is the planning authority for Alfriston, Cuckmere Valley and East Dean and Friston.
• Over half in the High Weald. Around 53% of Wealden lies in the High Weald National Landscape, 1,461 square kilometres in all, the High Weald National Landscape Partnership says, so Wealden holds about 30% of it.
• Ten stations, none in Hailsham or Heathfield, and no direct rail link between north and south.
• Two internationally protected habitats. Ashdown Forest in the north west and the Pevensey Levels in the south, alongside around 3% of all England's ancient woodland.

The Proposed Submission Local Plan runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2042. The standard method asks for 1,465 homes a year, 23,440 over 16 years. Policy SS2 provides for at least 16,833, about 1,052 a year, and the plan says this is 6,607 short because the High Weald, the setting of the South Downs, protected habitats, flood risk and infrastructure limit suitable sites. It takes none of its neighbours' unmet need.

Two Figures, and When Each One Counts

Both figures appear in the plan: 23,440 is the government's standard method, 16,833 the plan's own requirement. Until adoption, supply is tested against the first, 1,465 a year, which produces 3.65 years. Once adopted, the plan's 1,052 a year, roughly 72% of the government's, would normally become the yardstick, so the shortfall that helps an unallocated site today would be measured against a lower bar. Nor would the July 2026 buffer rule above catch it: the statement says the plan is considered under the December 2024 framework. The plan's figure is close to recent building: the Housing Delivery Test 2025 counted 3,217 homes over three years.

So the gap cuts both ways: before adoption it gives a well placed site outside the plan its argument, and at examination it gives the inspector a soundness question.

A Plan Withdrawn in 2020, and Three Drafts Since

The council withdrew its last plan on 19 February 2020, on the inspector's advice. The new plan went through a full draft in March 2024 for 15,729 homes to 2040, then a focused draft in early 2026 once the December 2024 framework raised the district's need. At an extraordinary meeting on 18 September 2026, councillors voted 20 to 16, with one abstention, to begin the final consultation, the Sussex Express reported the same day.

Three designations settle more Wealden sites than the housing numbers do, and the draft plan gives each its own test:

The forest's visitor management strategy is funded by developments within 7 kilometres. Schemes adding traffic on roads that affect the forest also need their own habitats assessment of air quality. The Pevensey Levels, a Special Area of Conservation and Ramsar site, are highly sensitive to changes in water quality. Some allocations ask for at least 20% biodiversity net gain, twice the national minimum, as our guide to biodiversity net gain explains.

Water May Surface Late

The plan calls Wealden an area of serious water stress and safeguards land to extend Arlington Reservoir, which South East Water needs to meet a forecast shortfall. The Sussex Express reported the company saying it was unlikely to be able to accommodate the planned growth, having planned for 12,013 homes over the same period while updating its estimates. Many allocations must also phase occupation with sewerage upgrades.