Lewes District Council

Skip Navigation Jobs go public website

• Home
• Accessibility
• Access Keys
• Site Map
• A to Z of Council Services
• Help
• Contact Us

Popular Tasks

• Find council jobs
• Search planning applications
• Contact the council
• Make A Payment
• Search what's on
• Find bin collection days
• Claim housing benefit
• Apply for a licence
• Register to vote
• Apply for a bus pass
• Find my councillor
• Report a fault
• Report abandoned cars
• Report housing repairs
• Have Your Say

• Full A-Z of council services

Search the site

Quick Search

Contact Us

Communications
Lewes District Council
32 High Street
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 2LX


Tel: 01273 484141
press@lewes.gov.uk
Fax: 01273 484146
Minicom 01273 484488

Find 32 High Street
On Google Maps

News Archive

• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• July 2010
• June 2010
• May 2010
• April 2010
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

 Latest News

What is RSS?

Follow Us On Twitter

See Also

• South Downs National Park

External Links

• South Downs National Park

National Park means new planning controls

The long-awaited South Downs National Park comes into existence just after midnight on 31 March / 1 April 2010, bringing with it additional planning controls.

This will reduce the works some householders can carry out without the need to apply for planning permission.  Approval will now be required for:

• a wider range of house extensions, such as rear extensions over one storey high, 
• external cladding to a house, 
• additions or alterations to a roof, 
• new buildings between a side wall of an existing building and a property boundary, 
• chimneys, flues and vent pipes attached to certain parts of the property,
• satellite dishes, dependent on siting.

These additional controls already apply in those areas of the new National Park which have previously been part of the Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), or which are included in conservation areas.

However, the additional controls will apply for the first time in a number of new areas including parts of Lewes, Beddingham, Ditchling, Westmeston, Streat, Plumpton, East Chiltington, Hamsey, St John Without, Ringmer, Glynde, Firle, South Heighton, Telscombe, Peacehaven, Newhaven and Seaford.
 
Peter Gardiner, Lewes District Lead Councillor for Planning and a member of the new National Park Authority, said: "We welcome the additional controls which the new National Park will provide because it will help us to look after the special character of the area.”

"However, the planning regulations are very detailed and complicated and I  recommend that householders check first with the Planning Department before they draw up their plans."
 
Although the National Park comes into being next week, planning work remains with the existing local authorities for another year. The new National Park Authority (NPA) will become the planning authority for the designated area from 1 April 2011.

Over the next few months the NPA will be considering how best to deliver its planning services. This could involve delegating most routine planning work back to the existing authorities, whilst the NPA focuses on the larger planning applications and on working up new planning policies across the South Downs area.

Full detailed maps of the new areas affected are available along with a frequently asked questions sheet.