Plans for hundreds of homes on farmland rejected

The proposed homes were planned for land between Cuckfield and Ansty

Plans to build up to 1,450 homes on rural land in West Sussex have been rejected.

The application for land east of Ansty Way, between Ansty and Cuckfield, was turned down by the planning committee of Mid Sussex District Council on Thursday by eight votes to four.

The council, which received 490 letters objecting to the proposed development, rejected the plans due to the impact on the countryside and the location of the site.

Developers Fairfax said: "We are disappointed that the committee chose not to follow their officer's professional recommendation, and we are now considering our options."

Simon Stokes, chair of Ansty & Staplefield Parish Council, said: "This is absolutely the right outcome."

He added: "The council has properly applied the basic planning principle that new development must be sustainably located and plan based.

"The council has already identified other, more sustainable, locations to meet its need for new homes."

Council officers had recommended the application for approval.

Described as a "garden community" by developers, the plans included up to 90 residential care units, a primary school, a school for children with special needs, a health hub, allotments, land for retail, community and employment use, and sports facilities including all-weather hockey pitches and a tennis centre.

A total of 435 of the homes were classed as affordable.

The application was first submitted in November 2023, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Development sprawl'

Paul Steedman, director of the countryside charity CPRE Sussex, said: "Dropping thousands of new residents into the middle of the countryside, away from infrastructure and public transport links, is not good planning.

"It just creates development sprawl, while harming the natural landscape and failing to deliver enough affordable housing."

Before the decision, Fairfax said its "thoughtfully designed development" would "deliver lasting benefits for Mid Sussex".

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