Views sought on South Downs National Park housing plans

The park authority said the landscape would come first

Policies setting out how the South Downs National Park is developed have been published, with preferred options on where new homes could be built.

Park authority chief executive Trevor Beattie said the plan allowed for 4,596 new homes over the next 17 years. Of those, 1,840 would be affordable.

He said the national park landscapes had to sit at the heart of every planning decision.

But he also said the landscape depended on development.

Mr Beattie said 112,000 people lived in the park, which covers large parts of Hampshire, East and West Sussex, and needed homes and places to work.

"Putting the landscapes first means making sure we get the right growth in the right places," he added.

A list of strategic sites has identified where new housing would be appropriate.

The list includes three brownfield sites - Shoreham Cement Works in Upper Beeding, the former Syngenta site in Fernhurst, and the North Street Quarter and Eastgate area of Lewes.

It also names a greenfield site at Old Malling Farm in Lewes .

Consultation on the options will run until 28 October.

Drop-in sessions are being held in Lewes, Midhurst, Greatham, Arundel and Meonstoke throughout September.