We are in the early stages of planning a beautiful and sustainable new neighbourhood to the North West of Hailsham in the Cuckmere River Valley

The site is located to the north west of Hailsham.  It is enclosed by the A22, Hempstead Lane and Coldharbour Road.  The site is currently in agriculture use and extends to 314 acres.

Early proposals for the site are to create a sustainable new community with up to 2,500 homes alongside education, healthcare, recreation and employment space, as well as enhanced blue and green infrastructure.

'Land to the North West of Hailsham’ is a working title for the project.  In the context of the Council’s Local Plan, this description aims to help easily identify the site’s location in the district.  It is also known in the Draft Local Plan as ‘West of Hailsham’. 

We are working in partnership with local landowners to promote the site through Wealden District Council’s Local Plan process. We will then prepare and submit an outline planning application.

Our intention will be to oversee the build-out process and set the standards for design and delivery across the project.  We will likely work with construction partners and housebuilders to build the new homes and amenities on site.

We are promoting the site through the council’s Local Plan process which will decide how growth will be delivered across the district over the next 15-20 years.  The Plan process is there to ensure that development is closely managed and delivered in a strategic way.

We submitted representations to the Council in March 2026 as part of their consultation on the emerging Local Plan and have commented on the following matters:

• Site Allocations – The Draft Plan should allocate North West Hailsham for up to 2,500 new homes, to deliver a 20-minute neighbourhood of a scale that is sufficient to provide and support the necessary infrastructure.

• Spatial Strategy – Smaller scale allocations are unlikely to deliver the necessary physical and social infrastructure for growth. North West Hailsham lies in a sustainable location and the proposed development would be of a scale sufficient to provide and support the necessary social and physical infrastructure for a truly sustainable neighbourhood.

• Plan Period – We have suggested a plan period running from 2028 (reflective of the anticipated adoption date of the plan) to 2048, allowing greater opportunity for larger strategic allocations to be delivered within the plan period.

• Housing Numbers & Supply - The Draft Plan fails to meet its objectively assessed need (1,457 dpa) in full, and instead proposes a reduced target of 953 dpa. The Council should plan to meet their identified need, in addition to the unmet needs of neighbouring authorities, through the allocation of strategic sites, including North West Hailsham.

• Climate Change & Net Zero Carbon – We support the Council’s aspirations to mitigate climate change and are committed to the delivery of a net zero carbon neighbourhood at North West Hailsham.

• Biodiversity Net Gain – We state that Biodiversity Net Gain requirements should reflect the national requirement for a 10% net gain. We are committed to achieving the national requirement of 10% at North West Hailsham through onsite and offsite measures, and will seek to exceed this wherever possible.

• Highways & Sustainable Travel – Higher levels of growth should not be discounted and further highways modelling and assessment of mitigation opportunities is required.

We will need to work through the council’s planning process, but our expectation is that we could achieve planning consent during 2027.

Subject to securing planning permission, we would anticipate construction of new homes to start from 2028/29.  We would deliver new homes and amenities in phases working across several years.

There will be a range of different homes to meet the needs of people of all ages and different circumstances.  We are still very early in the process and are not at the point of creating designs yet.  Detailed designs will be developed through the planning process and through engagement with the community.

Yes, there will be affordable homes and we will work with the local council to understand the housing requirement in the district.

There are different types of affordable housing which could be considered including social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market.

Other affordable routes to home ownership include shared ownership, equity loans, and other low-cost homes for sale and rent to buy.

We want local people to play an active role in planning and shaping the new neighbourhood. We will be launching a consultation programme to give people the chance to contribute to the designs.  We also want to set up the new community in a way which will give future residents a long-term influence over how it evolves and is managed.

We have introduced ourselves to a small number of local groups including nearby parish councils.  Our plan is to spend much more time getting to know the communities in Hailsham and neighbouring areas over the coming months.

We will be keeping this website updated with progress and upcoming events. 

We will publicise consultation events and ensure that community representatives are kept informed.

Cochrane Strategic and its consultant team welcome hearing the views of local people and interest groups.  You can get in touch with us via the dedicated project email: info@northwesthailsham.co.uk

We have had early meetings with officers at Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council as part of the Local Plan process. They are meeting with a number of different landowners and developers as they seek to identify the most appropriate locations to support future growth.

We will be shaping an exciting new community for the area.  Creating a new place gives us the opportunity to develop in a more coherent way, thinking about different social, economic and environmental needs – not simply adding new homes to existing towns without the necessary services to cater for increased demand.  We will be working closely with local people to understand what they would like to see in the proposals.

Our proposals will factor in the best options for meeting the primary and secondary education needs of the area based on the different types of households who might live at the new community.  Proposals could include making land available for new schools or financial contributions to upgrade existing facilities.

Our plans will reflect the Local Plan process, through which Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council are working together to look more broadly at how the district’s future education needs can be met.

We will be looking at healthcare provision to support the new community and working with the relevant local authority teams to determine the most suitable solution.  This will include consideration of both new facilities on-site and supporting the expansion of existing health provision locally.

We are keen to work with the local community to understand what people want to see.  Facilities could include a new riverside park, sports and community meeting space.

Our aim is to create a place that benefits the local environment as well as residents by enhancing habitats, providing green space and designing plans in a way that will help to reduce the carbon impact of development.

Our work will include assessing the site’s current ecological profile and how we can support its long-term biodiversity through our landscape-led plans.

We are looking at proposals in the round and are also working with organisations such as the Environment Agency, Pevensey and Cuckmere Water Level Management Board and East Sussex County Council to explore strategies for water management on site.  We will be considering features like ponds and swales which can also help to enhance local ecology.

From our early landscape assessments and conversations with local councils we know that water management is an important area to focus on.   We have identified the immediate flood zone corridor along the Cuckmere River and importantly will not be proposing any built development in this area.  At the same time, we will also be identifying how the design of the development will closely manage fresh and waste water across the whole site and wider river catchment.

We want to shape a sustainable community which reflects current challenges around climate change.  There is a lot to consider but initiatives could include delivering an all-electric community with no gas provision in anticipation of the UK’s future energy mix; designing the fabric of new homes to maximise efficiency; providing low carbon heating solutions and producing on-site renewable energy. This is an area that is changing all the time and as our proposals progress over the coming years, we will keep abreast of the latest carbon innovations for homes and communities and aim to incorporate them where we can.

Vehicle access to the development is proposed directly from the A22 between the Boship Roundabout and the Hempstead Lane junction. We will be working with the County Council to assess the best road layout for access into the development based on the different people who will be travelling to it.

We will be looking at how we can improve connectivity with Hailsham and the surrounding areas.  We think there are opportunities to improve cycling and walking links locally, for example. In addition to this will be the delivery of enhanced public transport, both in frequency and availability of routes, to give the community convenient, safe and desirable alternatives to travelling by car, particularly for local journeys.

Detailed transport assessments will be undertaken throughout our planning programme which will identify new routes and opportunities to enhance existing road connections. Where we can, we also want to help people travel by public transport, by bike or on foot for journeys that don’t require a private car.