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South Downs Local Plan Review

Following the Public Meeting held last week, the pages from the Local Plan document that include information on the site allocations for Easebourne and Midhurst can be found on the link below.

The site numbers must be referenced when you submit a comment. Please remember that comments must be submitted online via the SDNPA portal or by email to planningpolicy@southdowns.gov.uk by midnight on the 23rd June. Please also copy your comments to parishclerk@easebourne.org 

2026-05 SDNPA Local Plan Proposed Submission (Reg 19) – EASEBOURNE

South Downs Local Plan Review2026-06-09T18:11:52+01:00

Save the date – Easebourne Fete 2026!

The Fete is back for 2026, with the exciting addition of a new partner…

St Mary’s Church have now joined us and Easebourne School PTA to bring you a bigger and better day out!

Classes for this year’s dog show are as follows –

12.30pm – Walking to heel

1pm – Dog the judge would most like to take home

1.30pm – Hide and seek

2pm – Dog agility challenge

2.30pm – Best in show

£2 per entry – entrants to arrive with owners and entry fee 5 minutes before the class begins.

Save the date – Easebourne Fete 2026!2026-06-05T19:22:33+01:00

South Downs National Park Local Plan Review

As you may already know, the SDNPA is currently consulting residents on the latest version of the Local Plan, to be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent review and potential adoption in 2027.

From the Public Meeting held by the Parish Council last week you can download the slides here. They will give you some background as to what the plan is about and what you can do to comment on it – 2026-06-04 EPC Public Meeting re SDNPA LPR – Slides v2

Easebourne Parish Council strongly objected to all 3 sites within the Parish during the previous Regulation 18 consultation. We have already been in touch with the SDNPA to object to their decision in this version of the plan to treat Easebourne as effectively part of Midhurst.

The consultation closes at 23.59 on June 23rd, after which point there will be no further opportunity to comment. So it is vitally important that if you have concerns about the extent of the proposed development and the potential impact on the Parish that you make your comments to the SDNPA before the deadline. You can do this by:

  1. Go to the South Downs National Park Authority website – www.southdowns.gov.uk
  2. Choose ‘Planning’ on the top menu and then ‘New South Downs Local Plan’
  3. Then choose to view the plan by scrolling to https://southdowns-consult.objective.co.uk.
  4. Click ‘Learn More’
  5. On the next page click ‘Go to Event’
  6. The next page will load a huge amount of information about the plan and its content. To make a comment, on the left of the screen click on the arrow next to ‘Site Allocations’
  7. From the drop down click ‘Primary Settlements and Sites’
  8. Now click ‘Midhurst and Easebourne’
  9. As the SDNPA have currently referred to Midhurst and Easebourne as one Primary Settlement all 9 sites are now listed. Choose the site you wish to submit a comment on and the detail will load on the right.
  10. At the top of the page that then loads you can choose to ‘Add comment’. Click that to open up a series of pages you need to complete.

Alternatively…

You can email your name, address and comments on any site or the plan as a whole to planningpolicy@southdowns.gov.uk 

We would be very grateful if you could also copy parishclerk@easebourne.org in to your submission as will we base our submission on all the responses and contacts we receive from Parishioners

You could also write to our MP Andrew Griffiths – andrew.griffith.mp@parliament.uk 

You might also want to write to your other elected local officials, District Councillor Francis Hobbs or County Councillor Tom Richardson.

You could also write to our local or national press.

Remember, the deadline and last chance to comment on this plan is 23.59 on June 23rd 2026. After that the next thing we will hear is whether the sites have been formally approved for development or not.

South Downs National Park Local Plan Review2026-06-08T09:45:15+01:00

South Downs National Park Local Plan Review

Last night, Easebourne Parish Council hosted a public meeting to discuss our resident’s views on the draft Local Plan Review, in order to inform the Council’s response to the Regulation 19 Consultation. It was fantastic to see so many Parishioners in attendance and interesting to hear everyone’s comments and points.

Please click here to download the slides – 2026-06-04 EPC Public Meeting re SDNPA LPR – Slides v2

We gave instructions within the presentation on how to submit your comments via the SDNPA portal. We have been informed today that unfortunately their system has an issue and comments are unable to be submitted. They are working on getting this back up and running, in the meantime you can submit your comments by email to planningpolicy@southdowns.gov.uk 

We would be very grateful if you could also copy parishclerk@easebourne.org in to your submission.

South Downs National Park Local Plan Review2026-06-05T19:24:27+01:00

Local Government Reorganisation Consultation

A further consultation has now been launched to help decide the future of Local Government in West Sussex.

Following feedback from the previous consultation, which opened in November, the Government is now seeking views on two additional options. These are based on modifications to proposals previously submitted by local authorities in Sussex.

The consultation will run until 23.59 on 15 June and can be accessed at: https://consult.communities.gov.uk/local-government-reorganisation/west-sussex-two-unitary-proposal-modification/

In West Sussex, the additional proposal involves the creation of two unitary authorities. One authority would bring together Chichester District, Crawley Borough, Horsham District and Mid Sussex District, serving a population of approximately 566,000. The second would combine Arun District, Adur District and Worthing Borough, with an estimated population of 349,000.

A further option has also been proposed for East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, again based on two unitary authorities. Under this model, Brighton & Hove would be combined with parts of Lewes District, including the wards of East Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven West, Peacehaven East, Peacehaven North, and Falmer Parish, creating an authority serving around 308,000 residents. A second authority would include Eastbourne Borough, Hastings Borough, Rother District, Wealden District and the remaining areas of Lewes District, with a population of approximately 537,000.

As part of the consultation, respondents will be asked whether these modified options would deliver more effective unitary local government arrangements than those previously proposed.

All earlier proposals that were previously consulted on remain under consideration. These include the two options put forward by all eight West Sussex councils. One was for a single unitary authority covering the whole of West Sussex, which was supported by West Sussex County Council. The other was for two unitary authorities in West Sussex – one which would include Chichester District, Arun District, Worthing Borough and Adur District and the other covering Horsham District, Mid Sussex District and Crawley Borough. This option was supported by all of the district and borough councils in West Sussex.

Other proposals included a single unitary authority for the East Sussex area, developed collaboratively and supported by most East Sussex councils, as well as a separate proposal from Brighton & Hove City Council suggesting the creation of five unitary authorities across Sussex. This included placing Chichester District with Horsham District and Crawley Borough; Brighton & Hove with parts of Lewes; Eastbourne with Hastings, Rother plus parts of Lewes and Wealden; Mid Sussex District with parts of Wealden and Lewes; and finally, Arun District with Adur District and Worthing Borough.

Responses to both consultations will be reviewed by Ministers ahead of a final decision which is expected in the summer.

Hard copies of the consultation are available at council offices for those who are unable to respond online. They will also be available at libraries across West Sussex from 19 May.

Further information about local government reorganisation, including more information about the West Sussex Business case can be found at www.chichester.gov.uk/devolution and www.shapingwestsussex.org

Local Government Reorganisation Consultation2026-05-20T14:30:31+01:00

Public Meeting to review the South Downs Local Plan

The South Downs National Park Authority has now published the South Downs Local Plan (Proposed Submission) for Regulation 19 (Publication) consultation.

This is the final consultation stage before the plan is submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination by a Planning Inspector.  This consultation stage differs from previous consultations on the new Local Plan, as the Planning Inspector will be interested in comments related to the Local Plan’s soundness and legal compliance.

The consultation period closes on 23 June 2026

You can view the complete plan by visiting the following link. This will also guide you to where you can submit your comments:

A New South Downs Local Plan – South Downs National Park Authority

A slimmed down version, featuring just the site allocations for Midhurst & Easebourne can be accessed here – Easebourne & Midhurst Sites Only

The Parish Council will also host a Public Meeting where you can join us to review the proposal Local Plan, share your views and help up formulate a response to the South Downs National Park Authority.

This meeting will take place at Easebourne Primary School on Wheelbarrow Castle, on the 4th June from 7pm until 8.30pm.

The Parish Council are also looking for volunteers to help spread the word about this subject, if you think that you may be able to help by assisting with the delivery of leaflets to advertise this meeting please get in touch with the Chairman – mike@easebourne.org. Even if you are only able to deliver to houses on your street this would still be a big help!

Public Meeting to review the South Downs Local Plan2026-06-02T11:34:24+01:00

Chichester District Council Dog Control Consultation

Chichester District Council are currently reviewing rules for dogs in open spaces and are seeking views on proposals to extend and amend the existing Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) for dog control, which is due to expire in October 2026.

Under the current PSPO, the requirement to immediately remove dog mess applies only to public land, such as footpaths, verges, parks and the foreshore. They are now proposing to extend this requirement so that it applies to all publicly accessible land across the district, including privately owned land that is open to the public and free to enter, excluding Forestry Commission land. This would mean that dog fouling measures would apply to the same areas as the current requirement to keep dogs on leads when directed by an authorised officer.

Dogs are welcome in most public spaces, but it is generally recognised that having some designated areas where people can exercise or spend leisure time without dogs can be beneficial — for example, fenced children’s play areas.

A copy of the draft PSPO and answers to frequently asked questions about how the order works and why it is used can be found on the council’s consultation web hub: https://letstalk.chichester.gov.uk/dogsinpublicspaces. People can share their views in the survey by visiting: https://letstalk.chichester.gov.uk/dogsinpublicspaces/participate before 5pm on Friday 5 June 2026. A paper copy of the survey can be requested by emailing: letstalk@chichester.gov.uk.

Chichester District Council Dog Control Consultation2026-05-11T16:04:17+01:00

Woolbeding Lane Road Closure Extension

The Parish Council has received the below from the National Trust, explaining the reason for the extension of the road closure at Woolbeding:

During repairs to the roof of the building, a rare Barbastelle bat was discovered. Barbastelles are one of the UK’s rarest mammals and are protected by an extra level of UK conservation law compared with other species of bats. 

Work on the roof was paused while the National Trust consulted with government advisory body Natural England and ecology experts to ensure the correct conservation procedures were followed to protect this vulnerable species. 

This consultation included an application process to obtain a modified bat conservation licence from Natural England allowing us to continue with the work.

During further repair work on the roof, contractors discovered that previously concealed areas of the roof structure and masonry were in a poorer condition than could have been anticipated. Contractors will need to spend additional time repairing these issues, requiring the continued use of scaffolding on the closed section of Woolbeding Lane.

Together, these factors mean the project will be delayed by an estimated four working weeks, extending the end date of the road closure from 5 June to 3 July.

We apologise for any inconvenience this causes and will continue to carry out this essential repair work as efficiently as possible in line with the new schedule. 

There will still be access for vehicles to the south end of Woolbeding Lane, including to All Hallows church, and access along the full length of Woolbeding Lane for pedestrians and cyclists.

Woolbeding Lane Road Closure Extension2026-06-04T12:20:57+01:00
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