I’m aware that some residents in both Cuckfield and Ansty will have received a direct-delivered flyer regarding ‘The Ansty Garden Community’ pre-application consultation proposal from the potential developer, Fairfax.
It is absolutely essential residents are aware this is NOT a site that has been identified and considered for development as part of the updated Mid Sussex District Plan. It is true it had been a proposed site in the District Plan review launched in early 2022, a plan which was paused soon after pending updates on planning policy from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC). Any local site can be proposed and come forward and that is exactly what the process is for - to rule sites in or out according to local need, support and suitability.
In fact, agreement was reached and committed to in June 2022 by the then MSDC Leader of Council, Jonathan Ash-Edwards, for its removal from the District Plan which was further consulted on late in 2022 and as a result did not include this area. An area which is often referred to as Cuck-stye. This makes any future formal planning application for this site a ‘speculative’, or what can sometimes be referred to as ‘hostile’, one.
This is common practice for larger planned developments which is encouraged ahead of any formal planning application submission to the local Planning Authority, in this case Mid Sussex District Council, and is undertaken to assess local feeling towards the project and pre-empt local questions and concerns. This clearly is a potential development that is deeply unwelcome and unwarranted.
I continue to fully support the position of the many unhappy and deeply concerned Mid Sussex residents, including Cllr Malcolm Avery and Cllr Jim Knight, who have approached me over the last 20+ months to raise their significant distress about the proposed extensive development on this site, which, with the potential significant effect on the Parishes and our way of life, is truly untenable.
As many will already know I wrote in February 2022 in extremely strong terms to the Secretary of State for DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities), the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, on this matter in strong support of the call for change for MSDC housing targets to be reset in consideration of the Mid Sussex environmental and infrastructure constraints, in fact citing this exact potential development to firmly illustrate my point. See this letter here.
I also met with the then local MSDC Councillors for Cuckfield & Ansty, Cllr Pete Bradbury (still at WSCC) and Cllr Robert Salisbury, both now retired from these MSDC roles, and representatives of Ansty Parish Council specifically to hear their concerns about this proposed extensive site in Cuckfield & Ansty.
In addition to active engagement with the local community (see letter below) and with the many individual constituents who approached me, I also joined a public meeting on the 10th June 2022, alongside other local community representatives, to listen to constituents' concerns regarding the inclusion of this site in the draft revised (and at the time paused) District Plan review. It was during this meeting the then Leader of MSDC verbally confirmed to attendees the site would be removed from the District Plan review. Since that time and until now, the matter has been somewhat quiet so it is with terrific disappointment this pre-application consultation has now launched.
I have been consistently clear on my call that we must work together to protect our ecosystems, our biodiversity, our precious landscapes, and key local green gaps. We must join up our focus on the regeneration of our brownfield sites to protect farming land, food security and the identities of our rural communities.
I’ve previously, and continue to, emphasise the existing infrastructure is already stretched, whether this is services, road networks, our stressed water supplies, NHS, dental and GP services, or our local schools.
Like many constituents, I am not against the principle of additional housing – but I stress again this must be in the right place, with the right infrastructure and I cannot, and will not, allow our area to be imposed on by neighbouring areas which are unable to deliver their own housing numbers when we have wide ranging constraints of our own.
Please do take the opportunity to feed into this consultation at: Fairfax – Ansty (consultationonline.co.uk) which I understand runs from the 11th September until the 9th October.
I hope this re-assures constituents of my continued support in strongly opposing this proposed development at any and all stages of the process and I welcome you sharing a copy of your feedback to the consultation with me on mims.davies.mp@parliament.uk or via my contact form on my website for my records.
Letter sent to parts of the Cuckfield and Ansty community in March 2022:
