At this level

beneath this item

Maresfield Parish Council prepared three consultation documents to gather local opinion about the LDF Local Development Framework

These consultation documents are presented on this page.

The results of the consultation exercise for each village can be seen by clicking the menus to the left for Fairwarp , Maresfield and Nutley.

Nutley's VDS - the Village Design Statement , produced by the Nutley Conservation Group, is also available by clicking Nutley VDS to the left - this contains the introduction to this from the Conservation Group and the final document which is in PDF format.

Maresfield Local Development Framework

Are these the key issues for the next 10-15 years?

1 How to remain a village: = to be separate from Uckfield

2 How to stop speed of traffic being a danger, or being a restriction on our enjoyment of our local life

3 Coping with a waste handling site if it happens

4 Coping with Ashdown Business Park development if it happens

5 Coping with much more housing if that happens (i.e. not just 80 homes at Park Farm but more over the years to come)

6 Enabling young people who belong here to live here

7 Anticipating our housing needs, so we have the right mix of owned/rented, of 2/3/4 bed houses

8 Strain on resources leading to reduced quality of life (health, water, Police all suffering from excess demand)

9 Looking after the elderly/having resources (e.g. suitable transport) so they can live here

10 The countryside around us ceasing to be farmed

11 Crime and anti-social behaviour; always with us, or will it get worse?

12 Facilities for young people

How to remain a village: = to be separate from Uckfield

1. Do we want to intervene to do anything? Or should we let nature take its course?

2. Do we think social changes will reduce community life anyway; so becoming a suburb of Uckfield would not matter?

3. Do we believe that modest organic growth of housing (eg 3-5 houses pa) will not threaten the village: but big developments (say 50+ at a time) do pose a threat?

4. If a fall in numbers of primary age children (a falling birth rate is a fact) threatens the school, does the school matter enough to justify more houses in the village?

5. Is the presence of a shop and a Post Office an essential element to village life? Do we want to intervene to protect them if necessary? Or let them go if eventually they prove uneconomic?

6. Do we value Maresfield being a village?

7. What else matters to keep village life?

How to stop speed of traffic being a danger, or being a restriction on our enjoyment of our local life

1. Is speed the real issue?

2. Is speeding traffic a danger? Or just unpleasant? Or not really a problem?

3. Is it only a problem on the B2026?

4. How do we cope if the traffic problems that we want solved are not what government or ESCC will help with?

a. Are we prepared to be realistic about what is possible?

b. To what extent will we accept change/inconvenience in our own driving or travelling habits?

5. Knock on consequences? Do we accept that making Underhill unattractive to through traffic makes School Hill more attractive; and vice versa?

a. Can we agree what to do?

6. The shop and passing trade

a. Should we plan these things to take account of the shop and its customer profile of passing trade?

b. Or should the shop have to adjust its offering to take account of changes in traffic flows?

c. Or do we take the risk of losing the shop?

Coping with a waste handling site if it happens

1. What should we do, wait and see or take steps to prepare ourselves?

2. If take steps, what steps?

Coping with Ashdown Business Park development if it happens

1. What should we do? Wait and see or take steps to prepare ourselves?

2. If take steps, what steps?

3. Are there things which we would like/would not like?

a. B&Q or similar

b. Alsford Timber or similar

c. Interlink Express courier company or similar

d. Food processing

e. Hotel

f. Offices

g. Retail outlet stores (McArthurGlen or similar)

h. Major employer (e.g. call centre)

Coping with much more housing if that happens (i.e. not just 80 homes at Park Farm but more over the years to come)

1. Traffic: do we want it to feed in/off the bypass, not through the village?

2. Integration into the community

a. how do we welcome so many people?

b. will our facilities be enough to cope?

c. does it matter if they become a separate part of the village?

3. Will more people strengthen our clubs, societies, and village life? Or just live here and not join in?

4. Is it a price worth paying if we get a strong school, more shops, better play facilities etc?

5. Or do we fight against it? Saying we have had too much in the last 12 yrs, and need a quiet time to integrate the new homes at Park Farm first?

6. Do we have needs as to the design/layout of new housing?

a. Cul de sacs stop rat runs; but isolate people

b. Paths and twittens link areas, but can be noisy or frightening

c. Would we prefer a new hamlet south of the village and separated from us?

Enabling young people who belong here to live here

1. Is there a problem?

2. Should we try to fight economic etc forces, and provide subsidy so the young can live here?

3. Or do we let things take their course, so that e.g. social mobility increases?

4. Who do we want to help? Who do we not want to help?

5. Are we concerned that we may not have teachers, police, nurses etc if we leave things to economic forces?

6. Are we concerned that a good mix of old/young and well-off/poorer people is important to a thriving community?

7.

Anticipating our housing needs, so we have the right mix of owned/rented, of 2/3/4 bed houses

1. There is a current shortage of 3 bed homes

2. There are many elderly people living in homes larger than they need

3. Should we try to engineer a better mix of housing type to match need?

4. Should we aim to have houses built which are attractive to older people so they can move?

5. Do we trust crystal balls used by County and District Councils? Is this issue too difficult for us?

Strain on resources leading to reduced quality of life (health, water, Police all suffering from excess demand)

1. Are we worried that infrastructure needs will not be met before new housing is built?

2. Are we worried that existing infrastructure is or will be overstretched?

a. GP services

b. Specialist hospital clinics

c. A&E

d. Acute care

e. Dentists

f. Opticians

g. Water

h. Sewerage

i. Police

3. Will our own village resources be adequate?

a. Village Hall

b. Sports grounds: are they already used too much by outsiders?

c. Play areas

4. Our bus service is quite good:

a. Does it need to be better?

b.Do we need services which suit working people?

c.Does it need to be protected, or even improved?

d.Do we need to do something about evening transport e.g. to/from hospitals, evening courses?

e.Are Uckfield and Haywards Heath the only routes which really matter (noting onward connections from there)?

5. Do we need a community bus for special needs (e.g. elderly people and shopping) or special times (e.g. the young going to/from the cinema)

6. Do we expect other people to sort out our problems, or should we do things ourselves?

Looking after the elderly/having resources (eg suitable transport) so they can live here

1. Is there an issue?

2. What are the unmet needs?

3. That should we do about them – seek to provide them ourselves, or press others to do so?

10.

The countryside around us ceasing to be farmed

1. Do we/will we use the countryside that much for it to matter?

2. Is it just a case of what it looks like?

3. Do we want to intervene? Or shall we let things take their course?

4. There is a call for keeping open space south of the church: is that a minority view? Does it matter if it is developed?

5. To what extent do we use/want to use our country lanes for recreation (walking/cycling/riding etc)?

a. Are we restricted by actual insensitive driving, or by fear of it?

b. Shall we limit their use to drivers to protect their use for recreation?

11.

Crime and anti-social behaviour; always with us, or will it get worse?

1. Is this a problem for Maresfield? Will it be in future?

2. If yes, do we need to do things to reduce it? What?

3. Does this extend to design or occupation of new housing?

12.

Facilities for young people

1. Do we think this is or will become a major issue?

2. To such extent as to require major investment? Or taking note of in new house-building?

Fairwarp Local Development Framework

Are these the key issues for the next 10-15 years?

1 How to retain the unique forest character of the Village

2 How to stop speed of traffic being a danger, or being a restriction on our enjoyment of our local life

3 Enabling young people who belong here to live here

4 Anticipating our housing needs, so we have the right mix of owned/rented, 1/2/3/4 bed houses

5 Strain on resources leading to reduced quality of life (health, water, Police all suffering from excess demand)

6 Looking after the elderly/having resources (e.g. suitable transport) so they can live here

7 The countryside around us ceasing to be farmed

8 Crime and anti-social behaviour; always with us, or will it get worse?

9 Facilities for young people

How to retain the unique forest character of the Village

1. Do we want to intervene to do anything? Or should we let nature take its course?

2. Do we think social changes will reduce community life?

3. Do we believe that modest organic growth of housing (e.g. 1-3 houses pa) will not threaten the village: but big developments (say 8-10 at a time) do pose a threat?

4. If a fall in numbers of primary age children (a falling birth rate is a fact) threatens the Parish’s schools, do the schools matter enough to justify more houses in the Village/Parish?

5. Do we value Fairwarp being a Village?

6. What else matters to retain Village life?

How to stop speed of traffic being a danger, or being a restriction on our enjoyment of our local life

1. Is speed the real issue?

2. Is speeding traffic a danger? Or just unpleasant? Or not really a problem?

3. Is it only a problem on the B2026?

4. How do we cope if the traffic problems that we want solved are not what government or ESCC will help with?

a. Are we prepared to be realistic about what is possible?

b. To what extent will we accept change/inconvenience in our own driving or travelling habits?

Enabling young people who belong here to live here

1. Is there a problem?

2. Should we try to fight economic and other forces, and provide subsidy so the young can live here?

Or do we let things take their market course?

3. Who do we want to help? Who don’t we want to help?

4. Are we concerned that we may not have teachers, police, nurses etc if we leave things to economic forces?

5. Are we concerned that a good mix of old/young and well-off/poorer people is important to a thriving community?

Anticipating our housing needs, so we have the right mix of owned/rented, of 1/2/3/4 bed houses

1. Are there elderly people living in homes larger than they need?

2. Should we aim to have houses built which are attractive to older people so they can move?

3. Should we try to engineer a better mix of housing type to match need?

4. Do we trust the housing figures handed down by Regional, County and District Government? Or should we dictate the need in our Village?

Strain on resources leading to reduced quality of life (health, water, Police all suffering from excess demand)

1. Are we worried that infrastructure needs will not be met before new housing is built?

2. Are we worried that existing infrastructure is overstretched?

a. GP services

b. Specialist hospital clinics

c. A&E

d. Acute care

e. Dentists

f. Opticians

g. Water

h. Sewerage

i. Police

3. Will our own village resources be adequate?

a. Village Hall

b.Sports grounds: are they already used too much by outsiders?

c. Play areas

4. Our bus services are poor:

a. Does it need to be better?

b.Do we need services which suit working people?

c.Do we need to do something about evening transport e.g. social/restaurant/cinema/evening courses?

e.Are Uckfield and Haywards Heath the only routes which really matter (noting onward connections from there)?

5. Do we need a community bus for special needs (e.g. elderly people and shopping) or special times (e.g. the young going to/from the cinema)

6. Do we expect other agencies to sort out our problems, or should we do these things ourselves?

Looking after the elderly/having resources (e.g. suitable transport) so they can live here

1. Is there an issue?

2. Are there any unmet needs?

3. What should we do about them – seek to provide them ourselves, or press others to do so?

The countryside around us ceasing to be farmed

1. Do we use the countryside that much for it to matter?

2. Is it just a case of what it looks like?

3. With the decline of farming, do we want to encourage alternative business uses? Or shall we let things take their course?

4. To what extent do we use/want to use our country lanes for recreation (walking/cycling/riding etc)?

a. Are we restricted by actual insensitive driving, or by fear of it?

b. Shall we limit drivers use of our country lanes in a bid to protect their use for recreation?

Crime and anti-social behaviour; always with us, or will it get worse?

1. Is this a real problem for Fairwarp?

2. If yes, what do we do to reduce it?

3. Does this extend to design or occupation of new housing?

Facilities for young people

1. To what extent is this an issue in Fairwarp?

2. Is provision of transport to neighbouring villages and towns a reasonable solution?

Nutley Local Development Framework

Are these the key issues for the next 10-15 years?

1. How to keep the special character of Nutley

2. Traffic, Roads, Transport

3. Tourism

4. Anticipating our housing needs, so we have the right mix of owned/rented, of 2/3/4 bed houses

5. Enabling young people who belong here to live here

6. Strain on resources leading to reduced quality of life (health, water, Police all suffering from excess demand)

7. Looking after the elderly and having resources (eg suitable transport) so they can live here

8. Ashdown Forest: The countryside around us ceasing to be farmed

9. Crime and anti-social behaviour; always with us, or will it get worse?

10. Local business

11. Facilities for young people

12. Our local practical needs

What are the other issues?

1 How to keep the special character of Nutley

Do we want to intervene to do anything? Or should we let things take their course?
1. We can't be Canute; things and people will change
2. What should we try to stop?
3. What do we want to encourage?

Do we believe that modest organic growth of housing (eg 3-5 houses pa) will not threaten the village: but big developments (say 50+ at a time) do pose a threat?

If a fall in numbers of primary age children (a falling birth rate is a fact) threatens the school, does the school matter enough to justify more houses in the village?

Is the presence of a shop and a Post Office, a pub, a primary school and a church an essential element to village life? Do we want to intervene to protect them if necessary? Or let them go if eventually they are not viable?

Do we want to have much employment here, or close by? Or will the village just be a place to live, with workers going elsewhere to work?

What else matters to keep village life?

2 Traffic, Roads, Transport

We expect to travel to doctor, dentist, bank etc; that is normal in villages

But better public transport is
1. Desirable?
2. Necessary?

Or do we accept we will have to set up some local community resource?

Will people help with admin and with driving?

The impact of through traffic

Speed = danger/fear/lower quality of life
- Needs control at the top end of high speeding
- Or don't bash the motorist; even at the top end of speeding;

people aren't stupid and can adjust their speed to the circumstances

Volume will grow because the SE economy and population are going to grow
- Accept this, and accept it will have an adverse effect on Nutley
- Or let's have a bypass? Nutley can revert to being a quiet Forest village
- Do we accept that the consequences of a bypass may well be –
  - Environmental damage; cutting through the Forest or open country
  - Noise from higher speed traffic
  - A gap opening up to east or west, and with it space for a housing estate

3 Tourism

Others are planning increases in tourism in the south-east

Should we plan for its impact on us?

Should we embrace it, and profit from it (esp. with local employment)

So we may have facilities for tourists; local accommodation. Feeding places etc

Should we reject it; tell them to go somewhere else?

So we should seek planning policies which do not permit tourist development here

4 Anticipating our housing needs ….

……… so we have the right mix of owned/rented houses and the right mix of 2/3/4 bed houses

1. There is a current shortage of 3 bed homes

There are many elderly people living in homes larger than they need

Should we try to engineer a better mix of housing type to match need?

Should we aim to have houses built which are attractive to older people so they can move?

Do we trust crystal balls used by County and District Councils? Is this issue too difficult for us?

Is gradual growth of the village desirable?
1. So no to big developments; no to new estates
2. But we don't stop all development (concern that a blanket ban leads to atrophy)
3. The school is restricted by its site, so cannot grow
4. Do we identify a need to increase our population to strengthen our shop, school, pub, church etc?

If yes, do we need this enough to justify more housing?

Note the NCG age data

5 Enabling young people who belong here to live here

Is there a problem? [It is clear that some local young people hope for AH here; the query is how many, and what type of tenure is needed for the long-term]

These are practical, current issues

BUT for the long-term

Is it so important to this community to have YP helped to live here that we build for them?

Or, do we let things take their course, so that eg social mobility increases?

Who do we want to help? Who do we not want to help?

Are we concerned that we may not have teachers, police, nurses etc if we leave things to economic forces?

Do we agree:

that there is a need for some AH, perhaps 2-3 homes pa over the next 10 years?

but where they are to go needs to be decided on a case by case basis?

Note: AH = affordable housing

YP = young people

6 Strain on resources leading to reduced quality of life

……….. health, water, Police all suffering from excess demand

Are we worried that infrastructure needs will not be met before new housing is built locally and elsewhere in the region?
Are we worried that existing infrastructure is or will be overstretched?
1. GP services
2. Specialist hospital clinics
3. A&E
4. Acute care
5. Dentists
6. Opticians
7. Water
8. Sewerage
9. Police
Will our own village resources be adequate over the next 10 - 15 years ?
1. Memorial Hall
2. Fords Green
3. Play area
Our bus service is poor:
1. Do we need services which suit working people?
2. Do we need to do something about evening transport eg to/from hospitals, evening courses?
3. Are Uckfield and Forest Row/East Grinstead the only places which really matter (noting onward connections from there)?

7 Looking after the elderly and having resources

………… e.g. suitable transport) so they can live here

Is there an issue?

What are the unmet needs?

What should we do about them – seek to provide them ourselves, or press others to do so?

8 Ashdown Forest:

The countryside around us ceasing to be farmed

Is it just a case of what it looks like? Or do we hope to see particular uses encouraged?

Do we want to intervene? Or shall we let things take their course?
1. If we intervene, what should we seek to achieve?

To what extent do we use/want to use our country lanes for recreation (walking/cycling/riding etc)?
1. Are we restricted by actual insensitive driving, or by fear of it?
2. Shall we restrict drivers to protect their use for recreation?

If so, is it just a speed issue, or access only use at some times?

9 Crime and anti-social behaviour:

…… always with us, or will it get worse?

Is this a problem for Nutley? Will it be in future?

If yes, do we need to do things to reduce it? What?

10 Local Business

Is it important because it may help to maintain a good mix of people in Nutley?

Is it/will it be important as a local employer?

Does it require acceptance: and leave well alone?

Or supportive action?

Or should we put the brakes on further increases in local business?

See NCG data on extent of local employment/self-employment

11 Facilities for young people

Do we think this is or will become a major issue?

To such extent as to require major investment? Or taking note of in new housebuilding?

Or is it more a case of a better play area; and some type of youth shelter or similar so young people can have their own place to meet?

12 Local practical needs

1 Are these confined to activity for young people and upgrades to the play area?

2 Or are there other needs? If so, what?