LAMBS reports:

Days 9 and 10 of the Examination of the Mid Sussex District Plan have taken place this week and we have reason to be optimistic that Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) will soon have a housing plan in place. During the course of the Hearing, Mayfield Market Towns (MMT) did all they could (including inaccurate advertising which is still under review by the Advertising Standards Authority) to suggest that the plan was not sound. However, the Inspector looks like he is intending to approve the plan. MMT have done everything they can to force specific engagement with the Coastal Councils, and to force MSDC alone to commit to solve their unmet housing needs. The Inspector, as at Horsham, has stated that MSDC should not have to do more than work with them on a sub-regional plan. MMT consistently tried to argue that the requirement for MSDC should be well over 1,000, or more, dwellings per year immediately. It is not. MMT finally sought an early review (2019/20) of the Plan to try and force their plan on the Council, but this will not happen. Subject to the Inspector’s requested revisions on the Plan, we believe the outcome is as good as we could have hoped for, giving MMT little leverage. There will be no early review and the Inspector acknowledged that a different set of economic conditions (if applicable) could be used for the review in 5 years. The initial requirement is under 900 dwellings per year, when we believe that to make MMT even start to figure in Council thinking the requirement needs to be over 1,100 (even if this is still very high and arises from MSDC taking lots of other Councils’ unmet needs). Brighton remains a separate housing market assessment (HMA), with no specific obligations on MSDC to assist any more than any other District Council.