Land East Of Sandy Cross Lane, Heathfield, TN21 8QQ

WD/2025/2622/FFullRefused

Refused on 20 October 2026

Council decision: Refusal1 reason for refusal

Approximate site (title boundary)

Boundary © HM Land Registry, © Ordnance Survey · details

This information is subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 and is reproduced with the permission of HM Land Registry. The polygons (including the associated geometry, namely x, y co-ordinates) are subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 Ordnance Survey AC0000851063. Conditions of use.

Proposal

ERECTION OF 8 NO. BESPOKE DETACHED DWELLINGS WITH ASSOCIATED NEW VEHICULAR ACCESS FROM SANDY CROSS LANE, INTERNAL SHARED-SURFACE ROAD, PARKING, LANDSCAPING, ECOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENTS, FOUL AND SURFACE WATER DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDING ATTENUATION BASINS, AND OTHER ANCILLARY WORKS.

Received: 17 November 2025
Council: Wealden District Council
Ward: Heathfield South

ReceivedReceived17 Nov
ValidatedValidated22 Dec
Consult.Consultation6 Feb
TargetTarget Date16 Feb
DecidedDecided20 Oct

Decided in 302 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is a full planning application for a new dwelling at LAND EAST OF SANDY CROSS LANE, HEATHFIELD, TN21 8QQ. Wealden has handled 5,916 applications of this type. This one was decided in 337 days, 40 weeks longer than Wealden's typical decision time. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 18 applications across Heathfield South. We hold 957 applications in total for the TN21 postcode area.

86% of full applications at Wealden District Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 8 weeks (median).

Based on decided applications received in the last 3 years.Planning something similar? See what gets approved on your street

Why it was refused

The proposed development would be accessed along a single width lane without pavements and street lighting and with regular vehicular traffic. As such it is not an attractive pedestrian environment. The development proposed does not prioritise opportunities to improve walking, wheeling and cycling or provide good connections to the wider settlement and would not provide a safe pedestrian environment for occupiers of the development to access Heathfield. Information is insufficient or out of date to conclude otherwise. The proposal therefore conflicts with Saved Policies GD2, DC17, EN1 and TR3 of the adopted Wealden Local Plan 1998, and Spatial Planning Objective SPO7, SPO12 and SPO13 of the Wealden Core Strategy Local Plan 2013. The Council cannot demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply and the proposal falls within one of the forms of development identified within Policy S5 of the National Planning Policy Framework benefitting from a presumption in favour of sustainable development. Whilst the development would provide benefits of additional housing to overall supply which attracts significant weight, some economic benefits during construction phase and future occupiers’ contributing to the local economy (moderate weight), in addition to the development plan conflicts identified above, these benefits would be substantially outweighed by adverse effects of the site’s location not having a safe pedestrian connection for future occupiers, which is contrary to Policies S5(1), CC2(1), DP3(2d) and TR3 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode: TN21 8QQ
Application type: Full
Scale / size: Large
Parish: Heathfield & Waldron

Planning application dates

Date validated: 22 December 2025
Consultation expiry: 6 February 2026
Consultation start: 8 January 2026
Consultation end: 6 February 2026
Target decision date: 16 February 2026

Applicant and agent

Agent address: Suites 9 & 10 Bristol North Baths Gloucester Road Bristol BS7 8BN

Planning decision

Statutory period: 56 days

Publicity

Advertisement expiry: 6 February 2026
Site notice start: 8 January 2026

Additional information

Documents: 132

Site constraints

Checking the site

2/3

Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)

Not published by this council, so not checked: Article 4 directions and tree preservation orders. Ask the council if these matter.

Also checked, none recorded (22)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, green belt, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

Source: Wealden

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