Anti-Link Road Petition stall in Sidley

Over 450 people object to “Gateway Road” proposal

Angry local residents have submitted over 450 objections to Seachange Sussex’s planning application for a “Gateway Road” joining the £100m Bexhill-Hastings Link Road to Wrestwood Road in Bexhill.

Grounds for the objections included “loss of greenfield land”, “increased carbon emissions”, “damages to wildlife habitat”, “loss of amenity areas” and “not fitting in with the character of the area”.  Many objectors said the development was simply not needed, pointing to the many empty business sites locally.

Seachange Sussex submitted a planning application for the so-called “Gateway Road” – a key step in developers’ long-term plans to build a 50,000 m2  “business park” north east of Bexhill and a massive housing complex north west of Pebsham – on 30 April 2013. According to the ecology report  submitted as part of the planning application, the proposed business park area is home to many protected species including badgers, bats and dormice.

Andrea Needham, a spokesperson for the Combe Haven Defenders, said: “The scale of objections to the ‘gateway’ road shows that local people do not want their countryside covered in concrete. The road and associated business park are highly speculative developments, with no guarantee that any jobs will be created as a result.  What is guaranteed, however,  is that the development would cause massive and irreversible damage to the countryside and its wildlife. We are currently facing a devastating loss of plant and animal species, and for Rother District Council to allow this road and business park to be built, against the wishes of local residents, would be an extremely irresponsible and unpopular move.  We are therefore calling on the council to refuse planning permission.”

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