HOUSING:

 

Housing is a major issue in Lewes with escalating house prices in part linked to London commuter possibilities. Many are finding their families unable to buy in the town they were brought up. Santon is offering to build up to 400 new homes in which up to 35% will be deemed affordable. This is appears to be an attractive proposition both for people in the town who want more houses on the market and for the council, which has tough government targets to meet with regards to building new homes.

 

The developer may seem to be socially motivated as a high proportion of ‘affordable’ homes has been proposed, but a large area of council owned land is in their development and an alternative may have been for the council to have provided these affordable homes anyway.

 

The questions which are raised by this matter may not be directly Santon's responsibility, but for many, house price's are so expensive that 80% of market price is still unaffordable. There are also questions over who will receive these affordable homes as Lewes District is a large catchment area.

 

The next question raised by the housing proposal is how a significant increase in population will affect the public services in town, the already slow moving traffic through town and the increased noise, congestion and pollution this will bring.

 

Another significant concern is how 14.5 acres of new build houses will be able to integrate with the historic nature of the architecture in the town. Lewes is full of interesting streets and hidden gems, it has resisted big commercial developments and many residents take pride in its culture and beauty and distinctive character.

 

The developer is trying to meet these concerns by consulting three different architects and creating different types of buildings. However, a great number of residents may feel that a huge housing estate in the centre, from Waitrose to the Pells Pool will never be the right place.

 

Many would have preferred the alternative that the Lewes Community Land Trust proposed. A long term (upto twenty year) development plan working on keeping some of the historic buildings, supporting the businesses currently on site by improving the buildings which could be renovated, creating smaller housing clusters and live work spaces.

 

Lastly, there is concern that the developer is not planning to build the houses themselves i.e. they will sell plots to the highest bidder once they have planning permission. This could mean further loss of control, accountability and influence over the development, as one builder after another interprets the plans as they see fit in order to increase profit margins at the expense of the town and its inhabitants.