TEMPERS flared at Rother District Council’s Planning Committee this morning (Thursday 26 June), as plans for a major housing extension at Rosewood Park were approved despite vocal opposition from residents and a forceful speech from the ward councillor.
The committee voted 6-2 in favour (with one abstention) of granting outline permission for up to 340 new homes on land at the edge of the current Rosewood Park development in Bexhill. The scheme also includes a community or retail unit, new road access and drainage infrastructure.
The decision was met with frustration and disappointment from locals, many of whom filled the public gallery at the Town Hall in a show of defiance against what they described as unchecked overdevelopment.
St Marks Ward Councillor, Connor Winter, led the charge against the plans, warning that Bexhill’s infrastructure is already under strain.
He told the planning committee: “This is not about stopping homes. It is about stopping a pattern of overdevelopment, under-delivery and avoidable harm to our town and its residents.”
Applause erupted from the public gallery as Cllr Winter called for a shift in priorities, stating ‘Infrastructure first – housing second’.
He said it was unacceptable that the original Rosewood Park development had still not delivered its promised school, GP surgery or local shops and warned that this new expansion could worsen traffic, reduce green space and further burden local services.
Connor added: “This proposal effectively takes the ‘Park’ out of Rosewood Park. It adds insult to injury by funnelling more cars through Stowe Drive and Luffield Drive, roads never designed for this scale of traffic. Bexhill is not for sale!”
While the application was ultimately approved, a key concession was secured, requiring all detailed plans, including layout and landscaping, to return to the committee for full scrutiny rather than being signed off by planning officers.
Outside the chamber, Connor concluded: “I will always fight for St Marks and the community I was born and raised in. Today’s decision may not have gone our way but the people of Bexhill sent a powerful message.”
Detailed plans are expected to be submitted later this year.
