Cuckfield residents say 'No' to Cuck-stye in new poll

By Bradbury Williams

A big turnout at two ‘consultation’ events run by local developer Fairfax to promote their Cuck-stye housing plan led to an emphatic verdict from the local community.

An exit poll revealed that a total of 174 people turned up and more than 96% confirmed they were firmly against the plan to merge Cuckfield and Ansty, in any form.

Meanwhile, Fairfax said they welcomed the chance to hear the views of the community who attended the small exhibition at Ansty Village Centre last month. “We will be using feedback gained from this to inform the progression of our plans,” said spokesperson Martin Wilkes.

Members of the Stop Cuck-stye Action Group, which has widespread community support say they won’t relax until the plan is dropped altogether. “The view is that this was just a Fairfax tick-box exercise, as required by the planning process. If they were to take on board the clear verdict of our exit poll they we would swiftly withdraw the plans,” said Simon Stokes, SCAG co-chair. “We can now prove the vast majority of our community are not in favour of these plans in any form. They seem to be intent on carrying on regardless even though Mid Sussex District Council assure us they do not need the development to meet housing targets,” he added.

Many visitors to the event were visibly angry at the plans for 1,450 houses and the proposed new 215-acre ‘Beechy Bottom Country Park’ alongside Deaks Lane, already a designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which is criss-crossed by footpaths.

No event was held in Cuckfield which borders the site where the vast majority of affected residents live and general publicity to promote it was minimal. “It was interesting to see how Fairfax’s Cuck-stye plans have developed in the last several months. The answer was not much,” said Andy Burton, chair of Cuckfield Parish Council. “Reducing house numbers by a handful and putting in another roundabout on the A272 won’t make any difference to the catastrophic impact the development will have on the area.”

Michael Brown, of countryside charity the CPRE, said: “New housing needs must be driven by local plans not arbitrary property speculation. The council should facilitate organic growth of the larger towns and resist urbanising our countryside.”

Deputy Leader of MSDC and prospective Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Alison Bennett said: “The Lib Dems have consistently opposed plans for Cuck-stye from when it was first put forward by the Conservative administration in January last year. The new Lib Dem administration has no plan to add Cuck-stye to the district plan review. “Looking ahead, there will be another opportunity to give your views to the plan in January 2024, before the proposals are submitted to the Planning Inspectorate,” she added.

The newly elected Conservative District Councillor for Cuckfield & Ansty, Malcolm Avery, says he’s working closely on a cross party basis to ensure the Fairfax proposal does not make it into the District Plan which is now being finalised for sign-off by the government. “Our work on the impact on local roads makes it clear this development is unsuitable. We do need more houses generally, which is why there are currently 3,500 being built less than half a mile away at the Northern Arc development,” he said. “Promises made by Fairfax about a new school and doctors surgery are unlikely to materialise, with a similar surgery proposal at Kings Way yet to be implemented and new schools to be provided nearby as part of the Northern Arc,” he added. “The only certainty for our community is traffic chaos for a decade of building works, plus a legacy of gridlock and the permanent loss of beautiful countryside and iconic views of both Cuckfield and Ansty.”

Prospective Tory MP for the area, Kristy Adams, who met locals at both events, said: “Locals felt angry at the loss of open fields, habitats and views. It was a resounding ‘no’ to this development from everyone locally and I agreed with them.”

SCAG’s co-chair Simon Stokes says the next seven months before the Planning Examination due in May are critical. “They will have the best lawyers that money can buy so our community needs to be well equipped to oppose their desperate attempts to get their proposal back on track,” he said.

Cuckfield walks the Cuck-stye site

Large numbers of villagers jumped at the chance to join a guided countryside tour of the Cuck-stye site, where a local company is planning to build a giant new settlement in the face of widespread opposition. Despite the controversial plan by developer Fairfax to build 1,600 houses merging Cuckfield and Ansty being dropped from the latest District Plan, it could be back within months. It would come on top of 3,500 houses now under construction in the huge Northern Arc development less than a mile from Ansty and in the same rural parish.

“We have been given a detailed briefing by Mid Sussex District Council that the developer Fairfax will put up a very determined fight to get this controversial plan back on track, which is not surprising since there are millions of pounds at stake,” said parish Councillor Simon Stokes, who is also Co-Chair of the Stop Cuck-sty Action Group. “It was great to see so many local residents and dogwalkers come on the tour, which will help the campaign to build even more momentum and comes on the back of three other well-attended community events in the past seven months,” he added.

A six-week public consultation is now underway and Mid Sussex District Council Leader Jonathan Ash-Edwards wants everyone to have their say. “The decision to exclude the Ansty Farms site from the latest draft of the plan will be heavily challenged by the site promoter at all stages of the plan making process,” said Jonathan, in a letter to parish councils.

And he went on to warn: “They will of course present their own transport modelling and other studies seeking to justify inclusion of the site.” Four initial studies have already been commissioned by Stop Cuck-stye Action Group, covering Landscape assessment, ecology, traffic and planning issues. Whilst a legal scoping strategy is also underway. “We are gearing up for a long battle, but at the same time Fairfax will try to stay one step ahead of us as we move towards a planning inquiry. But there is every chance our community will win in the end,” added SCAG Co-chair, Simon Stokes.

Proposed plans for Cuckfield and Ansty to combine into a new town 'Cuck-stye'

By Bradbury Williams

Plans to build 1,600 homes merging Cuckfield and Ansty into a giant new development – a so-called ‘Cuckstye’ - have met with widespread resistance from local residents. Within days of releasing the draft district plan which Mid Sussex District Council claimed would protect the villages from unmanaged development in the future, district councillors had a re-think and put the plan on ‘pause’.

This is viewed by many in the community as being a delaying tactic as there are local district council elections due in May 2023, when the issue of widespread developments and the requirement to take on the ‘un-met’ housing needs of Crawley and Brighton will undoubtedly be a hot topic. Leader of Mid Sussex District Council, Jonathan Ash-Edwards, said: “It is now sensible to hit the pause button, given the significant issues which impact on the council’s plans. I am writing to the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, calling for our housing targets to be set to a level more consistent with our environmental and infrastructure constraints and liaising with our local MP to make our case in Westminster,” he added. “The Levelling Up White Paper will be published shortly and I hope the government will use this as an opportunity to review the housing numbers currently set for parts of the south east like ours,” he said.

But Ansty and Staplefield Parish Councillor and longtime resident Jon Gilley, says there is still every chance that the ‘Cuck-Stye’ plans will still go ahead. “We are totally opposed to the draft district plan and the proposal to build 1,600 houses merging Ansty and Cuckfield. Our parish has already agreed to 3,500 new homes in the Northern Arc development just a mile down the road. “It seems that district councillors are happy to put their heads in the sand and accept arbitrary housing numbers based on a central government algorithm. In the process they are totally ignoring the views of the vast majority of local residents who will not accept this developer led ‘Cuck-stye’ proposal. It’s likely this ‘pause’ is simply a delaying tactic until after the next local elections in Mid Sussex,” he said.

Cuckfield District Councillor Peter Bradbury has stated he is firmly against the proposal, which is unacceptable for both villages, “I have always opposed building on the Cuckfield Bypass and will continue to do so,” he said. For Andy Burton, chair of Cuckfield Parish Council, the move will have a radical impact on a historic village and the environment. “Mid Sussex’s proposal to double the size of Cuckfield will completely change the face of the 900-year-old settlement in a few short years and have a massive impact on the communities and the environment around it,” he said. “Our District Plan and Neighbourhood Plans have been trampled underfoot by the government’s new algorithm, which dictates a hugely increased minimum housing allocation that MSDC must now meet.
”This is not only completely unsustainable but extremely unfair on local people, who will have to put up with ever diminishing environment and services, significant traffic increases and years of construction disruption. Don’t be fooled by the Council’s ‘pause’ – the developer juggernaut will continue and try to build momentum,” he added.

Local developer Fairfax and Savills have put forward a detailed plan for a strategic development on the site. In its introduction the vision plan states: “We are committed to a high quality development, which serves the local community and fits in with the county’s distinctive character.” Also proposed is Cuckfield Country Park, which it says, will offer a range of amenities for existing and new residents with a route through parkland. “The strategy is to enhance the landscape. Diversify the vegetation, add new waterbodies and significantly improve the biodiversity,” says the report.

Minutes after hearing about the proposal Ansty resident George Morley, 40, who has spent most of his life in the village, started an online petition which rapidly gained hundreds of signatures. “As soon as I heard about it I knew it had the potential to destroy the character of both Ansty and Cuckfield, merging the two villages and turning them into a town which nobody wants,’ said George.

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“The reaction so far, getting over 730 signatures within a couple of weeks, shows that people will not stand for this and there will be a big campaign across the area to make sure it doesn’t get the go-ahead,’ added George.

For Keira Harkin, 35, whose family have lived in Mackeralls Farm – which dates back to the 16th century – for more than three generations, the plans are a devastating blow. “When I saw the plans, it was just a feeling of disbelief and shock. People do need housing but this site is not sustainable and attention should be turned to brownfield site regeneration, first and foremost,” she said. “The proposal has been made to look environmentally friendly to soften the concept, but having worked alongside commercial ecologists, I can see the terminology in the vision plan is there to soften the blow and tick boxes, to allow the developers free reign across the landscape,” she added.

For Jon Gilley, the country park plan, which stretches almost two miles, is a mystery. “We already have a beautiful area of countryside alongside Deaks Lane, with various footpaths in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so for me the country park idea makes no sense at all.”

Having appeared on an ITV News report, Jon is aware that the fundamental injustice of these plans will continue to attract widespread attention and galvanise the community. “We have had lots of offers of help and are planning for a long-term campaign, driven by a clear strategy, that in the end lays to rest any ambition for ‘Cuck-stye’ new town,” said Jon.