Two-day exhibition to explain 5,600-home development plan

A TWO-day public exhibition at the De La Warr Pavilion will explain Rother District Council's ideas for the long-term development of the district.

Rother has to absorb 5,600 new homes in the next 18 years to meet Government demands.

The Bexhill exhibition is one of several planned around the district. The document will lead to publication of a new core strategy for Rother.

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It will set out the scale, nature and broad locations for new housing, business and retail development, as well as highlighting the infrastructure needed to support it, and the priorities for conservation.

The council's Core Strategy '“ Consultation on Strategy Directions is described as an interim document, setting out its preferred "strategy directions."

Lead cabinet member Cllr Paul Osborne said: "This document has been prepared with the specific intention of encouraging local residents and businesses to input their views, so we can ensure that the final Strategy best serves local needs and priorities.

"I urge people to find out more about the proposals either from our website or by visiting one of the exhibitions. The free summary leaflet gives a useful introduction to the proposed strategy."

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Public consultation runs for 12 weeks until Friday, January 30.

The De La Warr Pavilion exhibition will be held from 2.30pm to 7.30pm on November 27 and from 10am to 4pm on November 28.

The leaflet and main document are available online at www.rother.gov.uk/corestrategy and from the council's Community Help Point in Amherst Road.

Documents can also be ordered by telephoning 01424 787634 or writing to LDF Strategy Directions Consultation, Rother District Council, Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN39 3JX. The main document is 10 (plus 1.68 p&p).

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Public consultation will lead to publication of the Core Strategy which Rother will submit to Government in mid-2009.

The council said this week that there would be further, formal consultation at that time. The final strategy will be adopted in 2010.

"The document does not allocate specific sites, but identifies broad locations for development. Sites will be defined subsequently in a separate Site Allocations development plan document."

Key elements of the proposals are:

*Substantial increase in the past level of business development, especially in Bexhill

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*Meeting the South East Plan minima of 5,600 new homes by 2026

*New allocations for 1,775 homes

*The Bexhill and Hastings fringes to accommodate 62% of the total and 70% of the new allocations

*The scale of the development to be subject to the building of the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road