SDA22 THE FORMER EASEBOURNE SCHOOL SITE

Residents were told that redevelopment of the former Easebourne School site wasjustified. Open countryside was lost. A substantial new housing estate was built.Whether residents agreed with that decision or not, it was accepted.

But now SDNPA wants more. More green land. More development. More loss ofcountryside.

Residents accepted the loss of countryside to redevelop the former school site. They didnot agree to continual expansion beyond it. This is not just any piece of land.

It sits within the setting of what SDNPA itself describes as a "historic estate village",notable for its "numerous old sandstone buildings", heritage assets and distinctive character.

The Local Plan states that development should have a positive impact on landscape and townscape character.

Yet before the impact of the existing development has even been fully understood, another 9 homes are proposed on adjoining green land.

Residents have already seen substantial housing delivered on the former school site, including homes marketed at prices beyond the reach of many local families, even where shared ownership arrangements were offered through Landspeed Homes.

The question is not whether housing is needed. The question is whether the continuedloss of countryside is delivering sufficient public benefit to justify it.

Most importantly, this proposal cannot be viewed in isolation.

The former school redevelopment.

Egmont Road.
Cowdray Works Yard.
SDA23 – the proposed 66-bed care home.
SDA24 – the proposed 25 homes at Budgenor Lodge.

Each development is assessed individually. Residents experience them cumulatively. That is the reality of living in Easebourne.

If redevelopment of the former school site was justified, when does redevelopment end and expansion stop?

And at what point does the cumulative impact of repeated development cease to conserve and enhance Easebourne and instead begin to erode the very landscape, heritage and character that SDNPA exists to protect?