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SDC have consulted widely about their Core Strategy in 2 stages over the last year.
They have decided that they will be able to achieve the government-imposed target of 3,300 new houses throughout the District before 2026, without the need to build any houses on Green Belt land. The Council is confident that these figures can be achieved, and an independent survey of the Council’s data has confirmed that situation. This, of course, has implications for Fort Halstead.
The stance taken by SDC has been strongly disputed by Hines, who are proposing to develop the site at the Fort. They state that the government housing target will not be met unless their proposed new housing at the Fort is also included. They also suggest that SDC are in direct conflict with government guidelines on new development.
SDC submitted their Core Strategy to the Planning Inspectorate on June 3rd this year, and it is anticipated that the Inspector’s hearing will take place sometime in the Autumn.
We will keep you advised when we find out the precise date of the hearing.
In the meantime, the situation has been slightly confused by the fact that the new coalition government has decided that the Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS’s) which determines the local level of housing, will be scrapped, and more powers will be devolved to local authorities such as SDC. The Parish Council is currently trying to find out precisely what the new government’s plans in this area will have on the Core Strategy, and more importantly on the future of the Fort.
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