By Bradbury Williams
Against all the odds the Cuck-stye plan was rejected by Mid Sussex councillors, who in a highly unusual move, voted against a strong recommendation from senior planning officers.
Despite officials mounting a concerted effort with last minute legal advice to members of the MSDC District Planning Committee, councillors voted eight to four, to turn down the plans for 1,450 houses merging the villages of Ansty and Cuckfield.
It was refused due to the impact on the countryside and the location of the giant site.
“Thanks to a huge community campaign of over almost four years we have been able to commission a range of expert reports showing this is not a suitable site,” said Simon Stokes, Chair of Ansty & Staplefield Parish Council.
Cuckfield Parish councillor Steve Oversby-Powell, one of the keynote speakers, admitted he was not sure how the vote would go.
“The Cuck-stye proposal was rightfully left out of the MSDC District Plan, but for various technical reasons the legally binding plan has not yet been adopted. The developer attempted to exploit this temporary situation, but thankfully most of the councillors listened to our arguments,” said Cuckfield Parish councillor Steve Oversby-Powell. “It does astonish me the lengths we have to go to for common sense to prevail,” he added.
Next steps are now actively under consideration and there are many key challenges facing the campaign in the coming months.
“It was a great moment for the whole community and I was delighted by the enthusiastic banner-waving support we had on the day,” said another keynote speaker, Giles King, Chair of the Cuckfield Society.
“But some big challenges lie ahead as we assemble the best planning consultants and legal team, but at the same time we need to reinvigorate our fundraising efforts to ensure we have the right resources in place,” he added.
A public meeting and a number of fundraising events are now in the pipeline and will aim to re-energise the campaign as it moves into its final phase next year.
Judgement day is looming for the proposed Cuck-stye development – merging Ansty and Cuckfield with 1,450 houses – as the plan is due to be considered by Mid Sussex District councillors.
Deputy Chief Executive of MSDC Judy Holmes has informed our two local parish councils that they are due to recommend approval of the Ansty Farms proposals, submitted by the developer Fairfax.
The final decision will be made by twelve councillors on the planning committee who have recently rejected officer’s recommendations on another local development, as they had sound grounds on which to object.
Members of the community-wide Cuck-stye campaign have been busy for some weeks compiling an evidence-based 35-page dossier, with the help of a team of consultants and legal support, demonstrating comprehensively why the evidence shows the plan is not sustainable.
They also reported back to the community in a wellattended briefing session at the Talbot pub last month, led by Cuckfield Parish Council Chair Andy Burton and Giles King, Chair of the Cuckfield Society.
This campaign report along with a 2-minute film has been sent to all officers and members of the planning committee, who will also have been provided with a range of officer’s own reports, explaining why they now back the development.
At the committee just three representatives of the campaign will have very limited time slots to make the case against the development. Cuckfield District Councillor Jim Knight, who is not on the committee will also have an opportunity, unconstrained by time limits, to make the case against Cuck-stye.
“We have left no stone unturned in the drive to ensure that we have provided a very professional, evidencebased case to MSDC, thanks to input from a range of consultants and advice from our KC,” said Simon Stokes, Chair of Ansty and Staplefield Parish Council. “I am confident that the councillors will make a balanced judgement in our favour, but there’s little doubt the case will then go to appeal,” he added.