Plans for 140 new homes in Rye will be discussed by Rye Town Council (RTC) on Monday, December 9. The proposals will be examined as part of an agenda item on the updated Rye Neighbourhood Plan. A six week consultation on the plan ended in November.
As we revealed last week in Rye News Martello Developments unveiled plans for new homes on four sites in Rye at a meeting at the George. The proposals include new housing at the Freda Gardham / creative centre site along with building at Rock Channel and Tilling Green.
The fourth location Martello hope to build new housing on has proved extremely controversial. The development on the Harbour Road is a greenfield site at risk of flooding and is currently not in the neighbourhood plan. RTC’s planning committee last week strongly supported demands for the “strategic gap” between Rye and Rye Harbour to be maintained.
The Harbour Road site could also be the location of a new Rye Creative Centre if Martello’s plans are approved. The developers met some of the artists on the centre’s current site on Friday, November 29.
Comments in Rye News and on social media have reflected the need for affordable / social housing in Rye, along with concerns about how local services (housing, education and sewage) will cope with the new development. The flood risk has also been raised.
Ahead of the town council’s meeting on Monday, Rye mayor Andy Stuart has criticized the way the plans for the development were revealed. “While Martello is to be thanked for making its widespread plans known to the wider public via Rye News‘ report last week, I am disappointed that Rye Town Council wasn’t invited to the George meeting as a ‘key stakeholder’ in Rye. Martello had informally briefed RTC a few weeks ago, but it would have been useful to see how their plans have developed in the interim, and we have had to rely on press reports. At next Monday’s Full Council Meeting, the Town Council will be discussing the sites being considered by Martello in relation to the review of the Rye Neighbourhood Plan.”
Rye News will have a full report on Monday’s meeting at the town hall in next week’s edition.
Image Credits: Ian Taylor CC , Rye News , RX Architects/Martello .
Will there be any green fields left in the south-east?
However, there is a real need for proper social housing, not houses for sale and profit in the area. Generally all we hear about are houses that need to be built. Is it time to repurpose second homes and holiday rentals?
Yes, there’s a need for social and affordable housing, but such housing must be located in appropriate places. In NO circumstances should building be allowed on the strategic gap between Rye and Rye Harbour; this gap has been a protected site for decades. The reason for this is that joining Rye to Rye Harbour would damage Rye’s distinct character as a discrete medieval town perched on its hill. The communities would no longer be separate. Rye’s shape is already distorted by tentacles of development spreading out along Winchelsea Road, Udimore Road, east along the A259 and north through Playden. The avowed aim of the Neighbourhood Plan to ‘keep Rye compact’ will be shattered if this strategic gap is surrendered.
If we didn’t have the so called tentacles distorting the town where do you suggest we all live, those tentacles have been there longer than you, me or anyone else in Rye have been around.
Let’s face it, one reason why people don’t want building on the Harbour Road is because of the view from the citadel, it’s bad enough having factories blighting the view without a load of houses.
Far better to have a nice mariner for the rich to play in.
It will be interesting too see how many of these developments in Rye will bear fruitation, with labour hellbent on building, Rother District Council are in a catch 22 situation, by blocking development, these developers who have wealthy backers will appeal and if successful, it will be the taxpayers once again footing the bill.