Category Archives: Mayfield

The Mayfield New Town proposal and the LAMBS opposition to it.

Bobservation No. 60: Mayfield

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Anthony Watts Williams (LAMBS), Malcolm Eastwood (Henfield PC), Karen Healy & Miles Firth (FPC)

The Mayfield Market Town Proposal
Impending disasters come at all levels. The international one is Global Warming, the national one is Brexit and at a village level there is Mayfield. Those of you who attended the Mayfield Market Town proposal meeting in the village hall on Wednesday 28 August will hopefully have come away with a sense of horror about the proposal. This will, if proceeded with, change the way of life of Henfield village dramatically and will lead to intrusion into the Downland villages of which Fulking is one. And, dare I say it!  have an retrograde effect on property values in this area. I do urge you to be aware of what is intended by looking at the proposal on line and registering your opinion with the Parish Council by emailing the Parish clerk. LAMBS (Locals Against Mayfield Building Sprawl) are the major local organisation objecting to all this.

Fulking Social Committee
Our next meeting is in the village hall on Thursday 17 October at 7.30pm when we will be discussing the way forward with the Christmas party and next year’s events. It is with great regret that our treasurer Nick Hughes will be leaving us as he has been a stalwart in so many ways. We desperately need new members if we are to continue as we have been over the last few years. Please come along, you will be made very welcome.

Village Meeting on Mayfield

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Fulking Village Hall, Wednesday 28th August 2019 at 7:00pm

All residents are invited this meeting to discuss the Mayfield Market Town proposal, currently before Horsham District Council (HDC). The speakers will be Malcolm Eastwood, the chairman of Henfield Parish Council, and Anthony Watts Williams, former MSDC councillor and founder of LAMBS (Locals Against Mayfield Building Sprawl). There will be a Q&A session and the meeting will be chaired by Karen Healy and I.

This proposal is for a town of 7,000 new homes (20,000 people) within half a mile of the Henfield boundary in the Wheatsheaf Road area. After rejection by Mid Sussex District Council, Horsham District Council are now being targeted. They are currently under pressure to provide new homes in their region. Should this go ahead, there will be an enormous impact on the surrounding area in terms of stretched resources, increased traffic, etc., as well as on Henfield itself.

Please note that while this isn’t a formal FPC meeting, the Parish Council will note the general sentiment and provide feedback to HDC as an adjoining parish under their Community Involvement Policy.

Miles Firth

Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council 11th July 2019

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You are cordially invited to an Ordinary Meeting of Fulking Parish Council, at the Village Hall on Thursday 11th July 2019 at 7.30pm, the meeting will consider the items set out below. 

Following the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, and regarding regulations on Access to Local Government Meetings, members of the public are advised that they have a right to film/record the meetings of Fulking Parish Council. Members of the public are also advised that by attending a meeting of Fulking Parish Council, they give their consent to being filmed/recorded by other members of the public, if such activity is taking place. 

Trevor Parsons – Parish Clerk 

AGENDA 

Public Participation: There will be a period of 15 minutes set aside at the beginning of the meeting for the public to ask questions or make comments on items on the Agenda. Comments on items not appearing on the agenda can be made at the chairman’s discretion.  

  1. Apologies for Absence. 
  2. Declaration of Members’ Interests. 
  3. Approve the Minutes* of the Extraordinary Council Planning Meeting of 23rd April 2019 and 25th June 2019:  The minutes, subject to any amendments, to be approved and signed as a true record of the meeting. 
  4. Planning Applications Update. 
  5. Reports from District and County Councillors.   
  6. Matters Arising & Outstanding Actions:  To clarify and report on actions brought forward from the last meeting.  
  7. Broadband issues at Perching Sands. Update from Simon Hughes, MSDC’s Head of Digital and Customer Service, 
  8. Fulking to Henfield Bridle path 
  9. Mayfield Development Update 
  10. Winter Plan Update 
  11. Operation Watershed Update 
  12. Village Hall Lease Update 
  13. Adoption of Updated Procedures and Equal Opportunities Policy 
  14. Village signs 
  15. Reports from Outside Bodies.  
  16. Information Items.  To receive information and items for the agenda at future meetings. 
  17. 2019 – 2020 Precept 
  18. Correspondence.  To discuss correspondence and respond to correspondence received. 
  19. Financial Matters: To receive the report on the Council’s income and to approve future expenditure. 

Date of the next Ordinary Meeting: Thursday 10th October 2019 to be held at Fulking Village Hall at 7.30pm. 

The Beige Plague

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The Mayfield Plague

HDC map showing the residual Mayfield scheme after MSDC opted out

In Horsham District, the infection persists. Their Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA), January 2019, reads as follows (page 52):

This site has evolved from an area initially identified as a broad location of search following the publication of the 2010 New Market Town Study, commissioned jointly by Crawley Borough Council (CBC), Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) and Horsham District Council (HDC). The developer has previously expressed a preferred approach for a development of up to 10,000 dwellings on land in both Horsham and Mid Sussex administrative areas. However, within HDC a development of up to 6,120 dwellings together with associated infrastructure is currently being proposed for consideration. The site falls in Woodmancote, Shermanbury and Henfield parish areas.

The site is in multiple land ownership, which may affect deliverability. Landowner interest in developing the whole site would therefore need to be carefully tested. There would also be a need for cross boundary working, with MSDC and with West Sussex County Council.

The site has a range of environmental and infrastructure constraints including an area of flood risk which would require mitigation. If developed, the site would need to create its own social, economic, transport and utilities infrastructure. Improved connectivity to the trunk road and rail network (which is some distance away) would also need to be carefully considered. Any major development would also need to take account of the retail viability of existing settlements such as Henfield. Unless allocated for development through the review of the Horsham District Planning Framework (HDPF) it is considered development would be contrary to Policies 1 to 4 and 26 of the HDPF and potentially other policies relating to the constraints of the site. It is therefore assessed as ‘Not Currently Developable’.