The land that makes up Brookleigh was allocated in the Mid Sussex District Plan (adopted March 2018) as a strategic mixed use allocation. It is part of the broader Burgess Hill Growth Programme. In October 2019, outline planning consent was granted (DM/18/5114).

The planning application can be accessed on Mid Sussex District Council's planning register

Brookleigh is to the north of Burgess Hill lying between Bedelands Nature Reserve on the east side of Burgess Hill and the Goddards Green Waste Water Treatment Works to the west. The site is located approximately 1.5 miles to the north of Burgess Hill town centre.

West Sussex County Council is the local highways and education authority for Brookleigh and is responsible for providing services across the county such as roads, rights of way and schools. Through the Burgess Hill Growth Programme, the County Council, in partnership with the district, is creating safe, direct and attractive walking and cycling routes and high-quality public spaces to encourage people to choose to walk, cycle and use public transport.

Homes England is the Government's housing agency. They are responsible for increasing the number of homes that are built in England, including affordable homes and homes for market sale. They unlock development by releasing more land to developers who want to make a difference, and by making homes happen where they are most needed. Homes England are the master developer at Brookleigh. They have acquired the land at Brookleigh and will make it available to developer partners as they join the project, as well as directly appoint contractors to bring forward key infrastructure at the right time.

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Phone: Sarah Ward on 07776 527 643

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The approach will be phased over several years (2020-2033) and construction management plans will be submitted alongside the detailed planning applications. Infrastructure will be constructed early with phase one delivering the new bridges and link roads in the east and west of the site, the secondary school, the first primary school, a Centre for Outdoor Sport, employment land and two neighbourhood centres. Phase one is expected to be delivered between 2020 and 2025

Homes England will work closely with the local community to involve them in the development process as it progresses. As individual developers join the project, Homes England will work alongside them to make sure that the community is consulted as part of the Reserved Matters planning applications and kept informed throughout the construction process. 

A rich variety of attractive open spaces supporting biodiversity as well as meeting community needs for recreation and supporting health and well-being will be delivered. This includes extensive areas of natural open space encompassing the river valleys, woodlands and grassland areas (providing opportunities for walking, cycling and exercise) and three formal parklands located close to the Neighbourhood Centres to meet needs for children's play, informal sports and passive recreation.

Brookleigh has been designed as a ten-minute neighbourhood. With the three neighbourhood centres, every home in the development will be within a ten-minute walk from local shops and facilities so people can pick up what they need easily and quickly within the local area. The two new primary schools will also be located at the neighbourhood centres, as will the parks – meaning these public squares will become the focal points for everyday life. 

Homes England are planning for a sustainable community at Brookleigh providing infrastructure and community facilities at the right time. The eastern primary school, will be two-form entry with provision for early years and children with special education needs. The primary school at the centre of Brookleigh is planned to be developed later in the scheme.

The new secondary school will be developed by West Sussex County Council, with Homes England providing land for the school and making a significant financial contribution towards the cost of the facility and towards local off-site sixth form provision.

In June and July of 2021, West Sussex County Council (WSCC) ran a public consultation about how people thought the new school should be set up and who should run it. There were hundreds of responses recognising the need for school places in the area, with a significant number of respondees also mentioning the need for school places for children with special educational needs and/or a preference for early years places to be provided. It is expected that these facilities will be included in the new school.

The University of Brighton Academies Trust will run the new school as part of an 'all-through' primary and secondary school named The Bedelands Academy.

Parking will be provided in accordance with local planning policy – it will include car parking courts, communal car parking, on-street and private provision. It is proposed that 30 public electric vehicle charging points will be located within the three mixed use local centres. It is also proposed that the development will include private electric vehicle charging points within the residential development plots.

Residential cycle parking will also be provided with up to 8,451 residential cycle spaces proposed on the site. Cycle parking to serve non-residential uses will be confirmed as the plans progress.

Like many other sectors, the construction industry is increasingly making sustainable, efficient choices. Homes England are making sure that developer partners at Brookleigh are future-focused in their design and build techniques.

Vistry, the first house builder to join Brookleigh, are employing a range of modern methods of construction (MMC) techniques such as their use of timber in structural frames for homes which bring benefits for both Countryside and the residents who will be moving in to the homes.

On Thursday 19 May 2022 MSDC's District Planning Committee voted unanimously to approve Bellway and Homes England's joint Reserved Matters application for 249 homes on land east of Issacs Lane and at Lowlands Farm – the next phase of housing at Brookleigh. The highly sustainable development will achieve a 31% reduction in carbon emissions against current building regulations, with all homes also meeting the requirements of the Future Homes Standard. Every new home will include renewable technologies in the form of either solar panels, air source heat pumps or hot water heat pumps. 113 of the houses within the Bellway plot – 83% of the total - will have PV solar panels and the remaining 17% of houses which are unsuitable for solar panels (either through orientation or overshadowing) will have air source heat pumps fitted instead. This technology is also underpinned by a fabric-first approach to reduce energy demand.

Vistry and other Homes England developer partners will continue to use industry leading Modern Methods of Construction at Brookleigh to ensure we're building sustainable homes for a sustainable community, for more information about these processes, please see the 8th edition of the Brookleigh newsletter. 

The existing 132kv primary electricity substation to the west of Jane Murray Way (A273) will be extended by up to 3,020m2 to provide additional electrical capacity to serve the development although it should be noted that this falls outside of the application site boundary. The existing 132kv overhead power lines to the north west of St Paul's Catholic College will be undergrounded. As the regional water supplier South East Water is legally obliged to provide water and manage water resources within its designated geographical area. As each developer partner joins Brookleigh to build homes, they will apply to South East Water for individual connections to service their plots. Each developer will then make a financial contribution to South East Water for them to provide this service.

Homes England have had initial and ongoing conversations with South East Water to ensure that they have the capacity to expand their provision in Burgess Hill, to accommodate the Brookleigh development, with no concerns over available water supply being raised in relation to Homes England's development programme.

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Existing pedestrian and cycle connections will be enhanced and new connections created across Jane Murray Way and Sussex Way at logical points in the development phasing, so as to integrate Brookleigh with the existing communities to the south. The enhancement of the Green Circle and the new 'Green Super Highway' through Brookleigh will create strong east – west pedestrian and cycle connections linking the employment and sports area in the west to Wivelsfield Station in the east.

The approach to public transport will ensure that new and existing facilities are well connected to existing and new residential neighbourhoods, Burgess Hill town centre, and employment areas.

We are committed to delivering a well-connected development and are working closely with Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC), West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and Highways England to deliver a wide range of improvements which will benefit both existing and new residents of Burgess Hill.

These include:

• Increasing the capacity of key junctions including three existing roundabouts on the A273 Jane Murray Way, at York Road, Coulstock Road and Sussex Way.
• A spine road through the site which will provide a link road between the A2300 and the A272 Isaacs Lane. This will also relieve parts of the existing highway network in Burgess Hill by providing a more convenient route for some through traffic travelling between Isaacs Lane, the A2300 and Jane Murray Way.
• Link roads into the site, which will allow construction traffic to enter and exit the site. The Eastern Bridge and Link Road (planning consent granted January 2020) will join Freeks Lane and Isaacs Lane (A273) and the Western Link Road (planning consent granted July 2020) will join the A2300 to the Northern Arc
• Contribution to the dualling of the A2300 being delivered by WSCC.
• A Public Transport Strategy, developed in consultation with WSCC and Metrobus, which will ultimately see buses connect the Northern Arc with key destinations in Burgess Hill via buses every 12 minutes, like the town centre, railway stations and key employment areas. Discussions are ongoing with other bus operators to further enhance this bus service.
• A three-tier network of cycling and walking routes throughout the Brookleigh, which will cater for a mix of ages and abilities.

The Northern Arc avenue will feature continuous pedestrian and cycle infrastructure along its length providing an east-west connection between the A273 and A2300 in the west and Maple Drive in the east. A network of walking and cycling routes will be provided to offer an alternative corridor to the Northern Arc avenue. The secondary pedestrian and cycle route will create a safe and convenient link connecting neighbourhoods, local centres, schools and employment areas within Brookleigh. They will also integrate the new settlement and existing residents of Burgess Hill by providing substantial north-south connections. No current public footpaths will be closed as a result of the development.

In addition, the Green Circle will provide a recreational route through the site contributing towards the aspirations for a circular route around Burgess Hill.

There will be no increased risk of downstream flooding as a result of the development. New natural drainage features or Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) will be incorporated within green spaces, outside of sensitive woodland and tree buffer zones to drain water from the public realm, provide visual interest, enhance the ecological value and increase biodiversity.  

 This falls outside of the application boundary therefore will not be affected by the development.

The development includes a total of 82.05 hectares of strategic green infrastructure comprising ancient woodland, sports pitches, grassland, parks and gardens and designated play provision. Together with the meandering water courses, these existing features define the character of the new community and frame the development. Homes England will plant an estimated 200,000 new trees, shrubs and plants across Brookleigh. Countryside Properties, the first developer on site, are planting two trees for each one that must be felled at their Freeks Farm site.

As well as making pleasant spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy, the network of green spaces throughout Brookleigh will have the important positive impact of creating habitats for native British wildlife. Brookleigh is required to deliver 10% biodiversity net gain across the site as part of the outline planning consent. Homes England have committed to providing a 23% net gain, 13% over the required standards. Biodiversity net gain is an approach to development that leaves nature in a better state after development than it was in before. All areas of ancient woodland on the site will be preserved, as well as areas that have also been identified to create new hedgerows, woodland, ponds and wildflower meadows, and the ecological condition of the River Adur will be improved.