All you need to know about the Seaford Neighbourhood Plan Referendum

Keith Blackburn, chairman of the steering group of volunteers and town councillors involved in producing the neighbourhood plan, said it had been a long journey, taking nearly four years, but the hard work and much public consultation had fimally paid off.

“We now have a plan that has been agreed by Seaford Town Council, Lewes District Council planners and a government examiner, which reconciles the conflicting pressures of government requirements to build a minimum of an additional 185 homes by 2030, and the need to protect the beauty, biodiversity and heritage of our town,” he said.

“The plan gives significant additional protection to open spaces, in the town including the downs site but it does not cover the Downs Health Hub in any way as this particular project is being reviewed by an Lewes District Council Scrutiny Committee which will be reporting its conclusions shortly.”

The plan identifies the following ten brownfield sites, which are currently used for commercial or domestic use and the owners have put forward for development: Dane Valley; Jermyn Ford, Claremont Road; Homefield Place; Brooklyn Hyundai, Claremont Road; Holmes Lodge, 72 Claremont Road; Station approach/Dane Road (above existing retail space); Seven Sisters Pub, Alfriston Road; Old House Depository, Claremont Road (already completed); Elm Court, Blatchington Road; and Florence House garden.

As well as not being on precious open space, all these sites are in sustainable locations, as required by Government Policy, the town council said, which have relatively good access to shops, services and public transport.

More than 100 homes in the plan will be affordable Housing, said the town council. The majority of these will be on the Dane Valley site which is currently a grossly underused piece of land which is in a good location close to transport links with ready access to shops and other services.

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group examined an initial list of 306 sites and analysed 61 sites in great detail.

The only sites found to be suitable for housing development were the ten sites listed above, confirmed the town council.

Other sites of a significant size were found to be not suitable for housing development.

The town council said the plan retains the present conservation areas and areas of established character and seeks to retain the beauty of Seafood Bay by laying out design policies so that any development does not detract from the natural open uncommercialised environment of the seafront.

The full plan, a summary and a list of policies are available on the Seaford Town Council website: www.seafordtowncouncil.gov.uk/neighbourhood-plan and paper copies are available at the Tourist Information Centre, Church Street, Seaford; Seaford Library; the Seaford Baptist Church and St Andrews Church, Bishopstone.