What is Oakleigh Gardens?

Oakleigh Garden Community is a proposed development covering 324 hectares in East Hoathly and Halland. The scheme is proposing 4,441 houses, employment space, three schools, a dentist, GP surgery, restaurant and community meeting space.

The site covers a range of different areas, including ancient woodland, grassland habitats and listed buildings. The site is currently being assessed by Wealden District Council in the current Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment.  

South West Strategic Developments (SWSD) is the land promoter. Their aim is to pull together parcels of land from several landowners to then set out development potential for a combined site.

They are acting in the interests of the landowners (including Lord Newton) trying to entice a developer to take the combined site on. To make the site more appealing to a developer, they may try to secure the site in the Local Plan.  No developer has yet come forward, but inclusion in the Local Plan will make the likelihood of planning permission much higher.  

Who are we?

No Development of Oakleigh Gardens is a residents group working to inform and encourage community involvement. The group was set up in response to the promotion of the Oakleigh Garden Community scheme.

We understand the need for new housing, however given the issues of the site, we believe this is unsuitable for the level of development.

Our mission is to demonstrate that Oakleigh Garden Community is an irresponsible development plan and Halland Park Farm is the wrong place to build a new town.  

Timeline for Wealden District Council Local Plan Development

Wealden District Council is the Local Planning Authority. It is responsible for producing the Local Plan. This allocates where new homes should go. Sites included in the Local Plan are easier to secure planning permission.

The Call for sites (Regulation 18) finished on 10th May 2024, but late submissions, like Oakleigh may still be considered to avoid delays during the next phase (Regulation 19).  

 Wealden reviews all submitted sites and determines whether additional evidence is required to assess suitability. Developers may be tasked with funding this evidence, but Wealden must approve the process and audit the results.  

At this stage, submissions are often low-cost and speculative. Progressing to the next phase requires significantly more evidence, with costs for developers potentially exceeding £1 million for a large site like Oakleigh Gardens.  

Wealden District Council will evaluate evidence and decide if updates to Regulation 18 recommendations are necessary before advancing to Regulation 19.  

Wealden District Council officers draft a Regulation 19 plan incorporating detailed evidence and refined recommendations. The draft is presented to the planning committee and full council for approval. Full council may disagree with planning committee recommendations.  

Once approved, the Regulation 19 plan undergoes a 6-week public consultation, including feedback from statutory consultees. 

The Regulation 19 plan, if approved by Wealden, is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate under the Secretary of State. The Inspectorate assesses the plan for legal compliance and “soundness” (evidence-based and in line with national policy). 

Wealden District Council’s previous Local Plan failed at this stage due to insufficient robustness, emphasising the importance of strong evidence and process compliance.

Even if Oakleigh Gardens isn’t included in the Regulation 19 plan, we must support Wealden’s reasoning for exclusion during consultation to reinforce the position that it’s an unsuitable location for development.