Hassocks development for 500 homes given the go-ahead
Gleeson Strategic Land wants permission to build up to 500 new homes north of the Clayton Mills development. The scheme also includes land for a primary school, community building and open space.
The site is included in Mid Sussex District Council’s local plan, but when an outline application was discussed in December it was deferred by the development control committee due to concerns around access from Ockley Lane.
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Hide AdA simple priority T-junction is proposed but members of the committee wanted the developer to explore the possibility of a dedicated right-turn lane for southbound traffic.
However the application returned to the committee yesterday (Thursday February 20), with no changes to the access arrangements.
It was approved by the committee, despite several members voicing concerns about road safety and the speed of traffic in Ockley Lane.
Speaking on behalf of the applicant Mark Gimingham, a partner at i-Transport, described how traffic modelling had shown a right turn lane was ‘not necessary to deal with minimal queuing traffic’ and this would actually lead to increased traffic speeds along Ockley Lane.
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Hide AdDevelopers would fund a reduction in the speed limit to 40mph although this would have to go through West Sussex County Council processes before being approved.
The scheme includes a gateway feature to the north, while Ockley Lane would be realigned slightly and moved two metres to the east with a hedgerow and ditch removed and reprovided.
The committee heard concerns about the impact of the access point on Hawthorn Cottage right next door and the heritage assets on the other side of Ockley Lane.
Benedict Dempsey, a Lib Dem district councillor for Hassocks, suggested the developer’s traffic modelling was ‘flawed’ as it had used data from 2017.
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Hide AdNot only had they significantly underestimated traffic flows, but he argued they were still underestimating the number of pupils attending the new school who would be driven from Burgess Hill.
Ian Gledhill, a county council highways officer, described how visibility would be improved by shifting Ockley Lane eastwards and the intention was to reduce the speed limit from the current 60 to 40mph.
Sue Hatton (LDem, Hassocks) felt a lack of empathy had been shown to the owners of Hawthorn Cottage and predicted ‘traffic chaos’ in Ockley Lane if the scheme was to go ahead as currently proposed.
Despite several speakers voicing concerns about the speed of traffic in the area, the application was approved.