Aerial view of Horstedpond Farm
Taken in aggregate, the Horstedpond Farm Action Group’s ‘Our Objections’ provide a sound and irrefutable case for why the proposed Horstedpond Farm housing project should not proceed

Introduction to Our Objections

 

2 December 2022

Horstedpond Farm Action Group (HFAG) was established on 15 September 2022, the day our small enclave of four Horstedpond Farm residences learned that a Planning Application by Castlefort Homes for 400 dwellings that would completely surround us was live. The Application had actually gone live on the website of Wealden District Council (WDC) on 8 September but HFAG was not notified of this development for a week.

Notwithstanding HFAG’s own very vested interest in this proposed development of 400 homes in our surrounding fields, the project would have a much wider impact throughout the area. It would deprive Uckfield of a wide swathe of green countryside, jeopardise our area’s rich biodiversity, put additional pressure on the town’s already-beleaguered services, amenities and traffic infrastructures and raise complicated issues of flooding protection and foul water treatment. The widespread repercussions of the proposed Horstedpond Farm development and its negative impact were reflected in an immediate torrent of objections to the Application from residents and councils throughout Uckfield and the surrounding parishes.

HFAG rushed to compile its own master objection to the proposal and this was submitted to WDC on 7 October 2022. Since that submission the HFAG members have had the opportunity to delve much more deeply into key issues that warrant their own individual objections to WDC. In addition to our own investigations and consultations, we took inspiration during the compilation of our additional individual objections from the work of others. These include the many detailed and well-informed objections submitted to WDC by our Uckfield and parish neighbours and established consultee organisations. We have also derived great benefit from the sterling efforts by neighbouring, like-minded groups such as CPRE Sussex, the Working Group Against Over-Development (WGOD), Wealden Green Spaces, Wealden Alliance for Sustainable Planning (WASP), Village Concerns and the Save Wealden from Overdevelopment Team (SWOT).

This section of the HFAG website covers Our Objections, i.e. our original Master Objection and the many follow-up objections on key issues compiled by individual HFAG members. The contents of the Our Objections are as follows, with a page devoted to each objection:

  1. Introduction to Our Objections
  2. HFAG Master Objection
  3. Flooding Objection
  4. Pre-planning Consultation Objection
  5. Rural/Farmland Loss Objection
  6. Heritage Statement
  7. Biodiversity Fauna Objection
  8. Biodiversity Flora Objection
  9. Biodiversity Ancient Woodlands Objection
  10. Traffic Objection
  11. Number and Types of Home Objection
  12. Foul Water Objection
  13. Amenities and Services Objection
  14. Visual Impact and Landscape Objection

HFAG believes that ‘Our Objections’ provide sound and irrefutable reasons why the Horstedpond Farm proposal in particular should not proceed. We hope Our Objections strike a chord and that you find them of interest. They may also provide some inspiration for your own campaign against a housing development. If Our Objections prompt any feedback or further thoughts or if you would like to register your support for our campaign, please drop us a line via our website’s Contact page.

In the meantime, HFAG is pressing ahead with its campaign, seeking to improve and extend our outreach to local neighbours, councillors, MPs, media and like-minded action groups. Together we stand.