Latest News/Roadworks
Detailed information on all decisions made by Felbridge Parish Council can be found under the Minutes tab. Please look under the Planning Comments tab for information on applications and comments submitted. Updates on MSDC developments on the Felbridge boundary can be found on the MSDC Developments page.
Last Updated 29th June 2022
MSDC DEVELOPMENT IN FELBRIDGE
MSDC councillors voted 24/18 in favour of approving the sites included in their current Development Planning Document as suitable for future development. Of the MSDC councillors local to the East Grinstead/Felbridge area, only Cllr. Ian Gibson voted against. A proposal to 'pause' the adoption so more recent data could be applied failed. The sites include CA19 (land off Crawley Down Road in Felbridge) for 200 houses. The pre-application by Barratt Homes for this site included a proposal to create a road across the Gullege Bridleway. Felbridge Parish Council strongly opposed that application. A full planning application is now expected. MSDC have already approved three developments for 120+ houses off Felbridge roads. The real impact on local roads has yet to be assessed. This latest proposal still needs to go through the planning process and residents will have the opportunity to comment. Updates will be posted. The meeting at which the sites were approved for development can be viewed on the MSDC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Rq8iR4ZYE
Roadworks
Information from SGN regarding upcoming works to the A22 Woodcock Hill starting 11th July: While there are three different locations listed, the contractor has confirmed that the works will start near the Gurkha and move towards the Star Junction with only one set of temporary lights operational at any one time.
"We are writing to let you know about our project to upgrade our gas network in Woodcock Hill, Felbridge. We are replacing our old metal gas mains and services with new plastic pipe. This essential work will ensure your community continues to receive a safe and reliable gas supply. In consultation with Surrey Council, our contractor, WCB Utilities, who will be completing this project on our behalf, will start work on 25th July for approximately eight weeks.
Our work will be phased as follows:
Woodcock Hill – Our engineers will be working at the junction with Heatherway to the junction with A22 from 25th July for approximately four weeks. We will need to install 3-way lights to allow traffic to safely pass our work site.
Woodcock Hill – We will be working from the junction with Woodcock Hill slip road to outside Chester Lodge from 25 July for approximately six weeks. We will need to install temporary two-way lights to allow traffic to safely pass our work site.
London Road – from 25 July for approximately six weeks, we will be working outside Chester Lodge to outside Camden House. Two-way signals will be temporarily installed to manage the traffic around our work site.
We understand that people can get frustrated by roadworks, and therefore we only use traffic management that we feel is efficient enough to complete these works safely for ourselves and the public.
We’re writing to residents and other local stakeholders to make them aware of our project and explain the details of our work. Please feel free to also share this information with anyone you think may be impacted by our project".
Turners Hill Road
The full closure of Turners Hill Road between Imberhorne Lane and the mini roundabout at West Hill in East Grinstead is scheduled to run until the end of November.
Overgrown Hedges and Vegetation Alongside Footpaths: Please report, including a photograph if possible, to SCC on https://www9.surreycc.gov.uk/HighwayIssue/whatistheissue.aspx?&code=thgw-hdg If the vegetation is on SCC land and they consider it an obstruction they will have it cleared. If the vegetation is on private land, e.g. a hedge alongside a pavement which belongs to a property or landowner, SCC will carry out an inspection. If it is considered to endanger or obstruct road and pavement users, they will contact the owner requesting that they cut it back. If the overgrown tree or hedge is not cut back by the owner within their timescales, they may also serve them with a notice to do the work under Section 154 of the Highways Act 1980.
Tandridge District Council Planning Department
Felbridge Parish Council have written to the TDC Planning Department, Legal Department and Chief Executive raising concerns at failures to determine applications within required timeframes. There have been extended delays in the determination of planning applications and a lack of consultation on some applications. IT issues have affecting residents' ability to access applications online and documents have not been uploaded in a timely manner.
Wild Flower Planting, Felbridge Village Green
The wildflower meadow on Felbridge Village Green has been extended to cover twice the area in response to positive feedback from residents. The flowers are made up from mix including a historic collection known as 'Medieval Carpet' and a selection which is bee and insect friendly.
Sports Facilities/Temporary Toilet - Felbridge Village Hall Grounds
A new all weather table tennis table has been added to the facilities in the Village Hall grounds and the basketball hoop and board have been replaced. Along with the skateboard ramp and outdoor gym, the improved facilities offer more for older children and teenagers. An extended base will be added to the table tennis table area. A temporary toilet will be in place until the end of September.
Green Belt Planning Application - Land near Double Dee, Star Junction
Surrey Highways have recommended the nine property development near to the Star Junction (21/2187) for refusal due to specific access concerns and because the junction is “already over-capacity and suffers from significant queuing at peak traffic hours…not acceptable to the Highway Authority”.
Felbridge Parish Council's response to the application for nine affordable homes to be built on Green Belt land next to Kwik Fit near the Star Junction can be found under the Planning Comments tab.
Housing Survey not supported by Felbridge Parish Council
A housing survey has been distributed to Felbridge residents. Felbridge Parish Council (FPC) became aware of facts relating to this survey which they believed should be disclosed to residents in the accompanying covering letter. That request was declined. Therefore, in the interests of transparency, FPC wish to share this information directly with residents.
• Unusually, the survey relates to a specific Green Belt site (near Kwik Fit on the A22) and has been commissioned by a developer.
• An application for nine detached houses by the same company, on the same site, was refused in 2016 since the land is in the Green Belt.
• The original application (2016/1840) was made by Millwood Designer Homes
• The survey has been commissioned by Places for People. Millwood Designer Homes is owned by Places for People.
• Places for People is funding the operational costs of the survey so may decide against openly sharing the full results.
• The survey timetable has been rushed since Places for People have already said they intend submitting a planning application in early summer.
Felbridge Parish Council have stated that they would welcome a carefully considered housing survey, undertaken solely to ascertain need, which was neither site specific, developer driven or rushed.
However, the objective behind this survey is to enable a developer to build on Green Belt land close to the busy Star Junction. Felbridge Parish Council cannot support this survey since it is considered to serve the developer’s interests, rather than those of Felbridge residents.
MSDC Site Allocations - Latest Response from FPC
Although MSDC have accepted a pre-planning application from Barratt Homes for the site to both sides of the Gullege Bridleway, the Inspector has not yet decided whether this site should be included in the final list of development locations. FPC's latest response is below.
Felbridge Parish Council strongly support the Regulation 19 response from Tandridge District Council that SA19 is not a sustainable location as it abuts Felbridge and has its vehicular access into the rural settlement of Felbridge which is a ‘Tier 3 Rural Settlement which demonstrates a basic level of provision’. The Tandridge District Council Sustainability Appraisal concluded that this site ‘would be unsustainable, with limited gains when compared to the impact on the environment and the settlements themselves’.
Felbridge Parish Council believe the Inspector should await the results of the Ashdown Forest and Ashplats Wood visitor studies (that were undertaken in late summer 2021) to demonstrate that the local SANGs approach is actually mitigating the impact of local development upon Ashdown Forest before confirming further site allocations within the 7km zone. To date there has been no study to show that this is actually delivering mitigation in the East Grinstead area despite prior MSDC commitments to carry out monitoring of its effectiveness. FPC are very concerned that the West Sussex County Council’s regulation 19 response regarding the Highways issues at the location of SA19 and SA20 has not been adopted in the latest version, the specific part of their response was; “There is currently no scheme identified to improve the Felbridge junction that achieves all objectives and that all parties consider to be deliverable. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the County Council consider that the Site Allocations DPD should also acknowledge the possibility that improvements may not be deliverable at the Felbridge junction. If improvements are not deliverable, the Mid Sussex Transport Study indicates that the likely impacts of development are increasing delays and/or traffic re-routing via less suitable routes which may require mitigation measures such as traffic calming. Therefore, the County Council request that para 3.16 is amended to acknowledge that if highway improvements are not deliverable, then alternative transport strategy approaches, such as demand management or a major scheme, may need to be introduced to address pre-existing congestion and mitigate the cumulative impacts of development on the highway network.” FPC contend that the Highways Authority are clearly stating that improvements at the Felbridge junction may not be deliverable, leading to non-mitigation of the severe pre-existing congestion at this location and further development will only add to this unsustainable situation.
FPC wish to respond specifically to MM16, which recognises the better than expected delivery of housing in Mid Sussex. A main (stated) objective of the DPD is to meet the residual housing need left over from the District Plan examination. The submission version of the DPD determined that the residual need was 1,280 homes and the plan allocated 1,764 dwellings. The DPD's residual need has now been updated (effective from April 2021) and has been reduced from 1,280 to 797 homes. So the Plan is required to provide 797 homes but is allocating 1,729. It would appear from the MSDC Planning Portal that during the last 9 months since April 2021, permission has already been granted by MSDC for more than 300 windfall dwellings for large sites (6 or more) and nearly 100 windfall dwellings for small sites (ie. those not recorded in the April 2021 commitments). Without even these windfalls in the last 9 months, the plan is currently allocating more than 4 times the number of houses required by the residual need!
FPC strongly contend that the combination of the significant risk that highways improvements at the Felbridge junction could not be delivered to mitigate the pre-existing severe congestion and the over-delivery of housing in the DPD as a result of MM16, should result in the removal of SA19 and SA20 from the DPD as they are not required to meet the revised housing need and they would bring additional burden onto the highways where severe congestion already exists and the Highways Authority does not have a deliverable solution.
Response to Barratt David Wilson Homes proposal for 200 dwelling development on land either side of the Gullege Bridleway
Consultation Communication
Felbridge Parish Council were disappointed by the very poor quality of the consultation being put forward by a national housebuilder for a proposed 200 dwelling development. Leaflets were delivered by post to some households in the area on Saturday 4th December inviting residents to attend an online presentation on Tuesday 7th. Questions submitted in advance were either not asked or not asked in the way they were presented denying residents direct answers to areas of concern. The Parish Clerk submitted a request for a list of the questions which were submitted but the developer failed to respond to the initial request or to a follow up email. Due to the poor communication, only a limited number of interested parties were included. Overall there was a lack of transparency and online questions with options which directed responders to predetermined answers.
Proposed Development Design and Content
The Mid Sussex District Council Supplementary Planning Document provides information on acceptable development layout, including the break and edges of settlement. This site is surrounded on three sides by countryside and on the fourth is in Felbridge which is a Tier 3 settlement. It should not be treated as an extension of East Grinstead town. The current housing density to the south of Crawley Down Road is 14 density per hectacre (dph). When presented to the Inspector, the developer said this site would be 23.5 dph overall. However, not all of the site can be built upon since it is in Flood Zone 3. The DPD Site Selection Criteria states the developable area is only 6 hectares, thus the actual dph as an average across the whole site is 33. Furthermore, with building density splits across either side of the Gullege Bridleway, the density on the west side is much higher than on the east. The access route across the existing heavily used Gullege bridleway would therefore be subject to higher vehicle movements than the area nearer the access road. The developer has failed to address biodiversity net gain and to effectively plan for the future. This is evidenced by their intention to deliver heating from gas rather than from ground sources.
Gullege Bridelway
Safety
The existing track is heavily used by horseriders, cyclists and pedestrians. It provides direct access to the Worth Way and is part of the Safe Routes to School Scheme enabling children to walk or cycle safely to local schools. On a recent planning application in the area which included limited access across a bridleway, the County Council were deeply concerned about safety even when there were only 3-4 vehicle movements a day. Felbridge Parish Council do not see how vehicles can safely interact with pedestrians or horseriders.
Access
An existing legal vehicular Right of Way exists on the brideway for two properties. The proposal to bollard off the brideway to stop it being used for vehicle access could therefore not be delivered.
Premature Consultation
The Site Allocations DPD is not an approved document and the consultation continues. An amendment was a significant drop in the housing need. Both SA19 (Crawley Down Road) and SA20 (Imberhorne Lane) could be completely removed with the revised housing numbers being met from other sites. Mid Sussex District Council reduced the housing numbers required but did not reduce the allocations in the DPD. Therefore, the DPD now massively over-delivers against the stated shortfall that it was installed to cover. Felbridge Parish Council have already stated a preference for the proposed 200 dwellings at SA19 to be added to SA20. There is vacant land on that site that could actually provide a greater break between the development and undeveloped land.
SURREY HILLS AREA OF OUTSTANDING BEAUTY
In a project led by Natural England, a formal boundary review is underway to gather evidence of outstanding natural beauty in areas currently outside of the Surrey Hills AONB.
Find out more and get involved at www.surrey-hills-aonb-boundary-review.org.
GULLEGE BRIDLEWAY DEVELOPMENT Proposal. MSDC are supporting a proposal to build 200 houses on land to either side of the Gullege Bridleway off Crawley Down Road on the Felbridge boundary. This is in addition to the 140+ already approved with no local infrastructure investment. The developer's website is www.landsouthofcrawleydownroad.com. If you would like to comment please email consultation@landsouthofcrawleydownroad.com or complete the form on the developer's website. You do not have to answer all the questions if you find that they are restrictive. You are welcome to copy your comments to clerkfpc@aol.com. Felbridge Parish Council will not share your personal details with a third party without your consent. No postal address has been provided. The deadline for comments is 19th December. While some residents received a leaflet from the developers on 4th December, communication has been limited so please share this information to raise awareness. A map showing the proposed development can be found at the bottom of this page under Uploaded Documents. The developer's presentation can be viewed on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W52qEnxo4PQ
MSDC Developments in Felbridge
A new page has been created to provide information for residents and road users on the three MSDC developments in Felbridge, including information on their affect on local facilities and infrastructure. Please visit the MSDC Developments page. Despite considerable opposition, MSDC have included site SA19 on Crawley Down Road near the Gullege Bridleway is a suitable location for a further 200 properties. Felbridge Parish Council submitted a detailed objection which can be found below. This also includes a response to SA20 for 550 properties on Imberhorne Lane. To view the full response please scroll down to Uploaded Documents at the foot of this page.
Police Response to Speeding & Noise Pollution from Modified Engines
There has been an increase in reports to Police regarding speeding in 30mph and 50mph zones across Surrey and Sussex. In addition, complaints have risen about excessive noise from vehicles, mainly motorcycles, which have been modified to increase the level of noise they create. Roads policing units are being strengthened to address anti-social driving and noise pollution.
Imberhorne Lane Waste and Recycling Centre
For up to date information please visit http://www.recycleforwestsussex.org/recycling-sites/east-grinstead/. The Centre is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and visitors need to bring ID and proof of residency. Surrey County Council have made a payment to West Sussex County Council as part of an agreement to allow Felbridge residents to continue to use facility. Please note that the agreement covers cars only. The full list of postcodes included in the agreement are: RH19 2, RH7 6, RH10 3,,RH19 3, TN8 7, TN8 5 and TN8 6.
EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
Emergency contact numbers, email address and website addresses for all the council agencies and utilities providers has been uploaded below. Please scroll down and open the folder named 'Emergency Contact Details'.
ROADWORKS
Information on both planned and unplanned roadworks, including the specific location and duration, can be found on the Surrey County Council website https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roadworks-and-maintenance/roadworks Using the map function allows users to view the surrounding area too which comes under West Sussex.
Tandridge District Council Additional Recycling - Door Step Collection
You can recycle textiles, paired shoes, small electrical items and batteries every week in your own plastic bags, by leaving them out with your food waste caddy. For further information visit https://www.tandridge.gov.uk/Recycling-and-rubbish/Recycling/Textiles-electricals-and-battery-collections.
DEFIBRILLATOR
A defibrillator is located in the porch next to the entrance doors to Felbridge Village Hall. To access the equipment you first need to dial 999 and the emergency services will provide a code to open the cabinet. The equipment works automatically with audible instructions on use. It will not work if not correctly positioned so is safe to use. The equipment and location were selected with advice from our local First Responder and SECAmb.