Major housing document work begins

MEETINGS with Southern Water over a shortfall in infrastructure have been "productive", according to Mid Sussex District Council.

The council's Core Strategy– a document setting out development in the district until 2026 – was scraped at the end of last year after the water company announced vital infrastructure work would not be completed until 2015.

The news cast doubt over the council's ability to deliver housing numbers set out in the South East Plan.

It prevents the council hitting five year targets of providing new homes in Mid Sussex.

A series of "information sharing" meetings has failed to speed up Southern Water's delivery of improvements but planning officers have detailed timetables of work which they can use to draw up a new Core Strategy.

"The unrealistic 17,100 home target set by central Government remains in place for Mid Sussex and these homes can be built with or without a strategic development plan produced by the district council," said Cllr Garry Wall, leader of Mid Sussex District Council. "While we do not agree with the numbers, we must have a strategic plan for delivering future housing if we are to avoid uncontrolled piecemeal developments."

Cllr Wall said he was encouraged by the case of Breckland District Council which faced similar problems with infrastructure.

Despite lacking a rolling five-year housing land supply to meet targets, an independent inspector found the council's Core Strategy to be sound.

"This is heartening news but it is important to remember that each planning authority faces a unique set of circumstances," Cllr Wall added. "We have seen in the case of Breckland just what can be achieved in the face of difficult planning constraints, now it is up to us to develop a plan that will meet the needs of Mid Sussex residents for many years to come."