Responding to the LDC’s Issues & Options Consultation – Part 1

Introduction

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Lewes District Council (LDC) has launched its eight-week Issues and Options public consultation for its new Local Plan.

Our Part 1 guidelines focus on four key sections (Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6). These have the most impact on the ‘new town’ decision. We’ll be publishing a longer document by end July covering all the Sections.

What to do
1) Download our Part 1 guidelines by clicking here.
2) Go the Council’s Issues & Options form and fill out Sections 3,4 5 and 6 - or just Section 3.2 if you’re super busy
3) Make a more detailed response by requesting our Part 2 guidelines - email donturbanisethedowns@gmail.com. (These should be ready by end July)

If you oppose the Eton New Town, it’s important to make this very clear in your response. Even if yo’re super busy, you can STILL make a big difference to the campaign by completing Section 3.2. Decide for yourself how to respond, select the options you favour and include a comment to make sure the planners are clear why you’ve selected some options and not others. It could be a very simple comment– for instance ‘I don’t support a new settlement within the Low Weald’. Check out our handy “actions table” below.

Key downloads and links:

Please note:

  • Everyone should decide for themselves how to respond, based on their own views. You should write your comments in your own words.

  • The Issues & Options consultation isn’t about any particular site (eg the Eton New Town.) We’ll be able to comment on specific sites next year. Issues & Options is about general options e.g. should we have a new town in the Lewes District or not; where in the district should new homes be built; how much emphasis should the Council put on affordable housing etc.

  • Once consultation closes, planning officials will count how many people supported or opposed each of the options suggested. It’s therefore vital that, at the very least, you tick relevant boxes to indicate the strength of feeling.

  • If you are short on time, just answering section 3.2 will really help

  • Planning officials will summarise the comments sections and use these summaries as evidence to justify the Council’s choice of sites in the next stage of the local plan process, ie producing a draft local plan which will be consulted on next year.