Residents Thanked for Taking Part in Recent Neighbourhood Plan Consultation

Public transport links, connectivity, infrastructure, litter and community facilities were among the areas in need of improvement, as suggested by residents who attended the Hailsham Neighbourhood Plan public consultation events held recently.

Drop-in sessions were held at the James West Community Centre and The Laurel Cafe last month, at which residents submitted comments on what the priorities for the town should be in the future, coinciding with The Town Council’s updating of its existing neighbourhood plan document.

The drop-in events were just two of several public feedback exercises being undertaken by the Town Council’s Neighbourhood Planning Committee during the current public consultation period, which ended on Friday 28^th February. Consultations were also held with Hailsham Community College geography students, Hailsham Historical Society members and Hellingly’s Young at Heart group.

The Hailsham Neighbourhood Plan, written by a group made up of the local community and the Town Council’s Neighbourhood Planning Committee, proposes a number of policies relating to what infrastructure and development is needed to sustain future housing growth in the Hailsham area, taking into consideration local environment and sustainability, design, housing type, traffic and transport, economy, services and facilities.

The Plan does not identify housing numbers or growth as such (which is the role of the Wealden District Council planning authority) and is based on the concept of the ’10-Minute Town’, promoting social cohesion, health and well-being in the local community.

Having recently entered discussions with Plan writers and consultants Troy Planning, for the Neighbourhood Plan to remain relevant, policies within it are to be developed further as appropriate to help draw out key opportunities and challenges for Hailsham in the future.

To help achieve this and to find out what residents’ vision for Hailsham is by 2040, the Town Council held several public consultation events to look at the previous Plan version, ask questions and submit any comments.

Residents who were unable to attend the consultation events were invited to complete a survey, from which information obtained will be collated soon and will help considerably in terms of drafting the new, updated Plan.

“Thanks to all residents who completed the Neighbourhood Plan survey or who came along to our drop-in sessions – and of course, to everyone who helped organise the event,” said Cllr Mary Laxton, Chair of the Neighbourhood Planning Committee.

“We have already received lots of feedback from residents in terms of important infrastructure requirements and issues to support future housing growth in Hailsham and have responded to comments made during earlier consultation events.”

“All comments received will be reviewed when preparing the updated version of the Plan. The opinions and findings of everyone who takes part in our consultations have already and will continue to be put into the mix, and I’d like to take this opportunity again to thank residents who took part in last month’s consultation.”

Cllr Laxton added: “Having the document in place has already enabled the Town Council to deliver a range of improvements to its public open spaces, outdoor recreational areas and other community facilities. Nevertheless, the Plan needs to be reviewed and updated so it remains relevant and can continue to give you – the Hailsham community – a voice in how the town continues to evolve.”

The next stage in the Neighbourhood Plan process will be to review the responses from the public consultation, work up a project plan over the coming months and align policies to specific projects.