Questionnaire results

People attending the local consultation meetings were also asked to complete a short survey with questions selected to reflect those being asked by the South East Counties in their ICM telephone poll and by SEERA in the ‘Your Shout’ leaflet. Key results are that:

• 91% believe it is ‘very important’ that new development should only be allowed when it is certain that the additional infrastructure and services needed to support it will be provided. A further 7% believe this to be ‘quite important’.

• 85% think that transport improvements, particularly to major road and rail services, are ‘very important’ to the county’s future economic prosperity and growth. A further 9% think such improvements are ‘quite important’.

• Nearly two-thirds (64%) consider that the quality of the local environment should be protected at all costs, even if this means that some needs for housing and jobs will not be met. Just over one quarter (27%) would give greater priority to meeting local needs for homes and jobs even if this means some environmental loss in some areas.

• Only around 10% believe there is a lot of scope for further development on either previously developed land or greenfield sites in the county. About half believe there to be hardly any scope at all.

• 51% support an overall level of future housing provision across the South East that is lower than SEERA’s lowest option of 25,500 homes per year, while another 19% would support that level of development (i.e. the annual average actually achieved over the last five years) continuing. Just 4% are in favour of making provision for 32,000 new homes per year, SEERA’s highest consultation option.

• 70% would support a 10-20% reduction in future housing provision along the whole of the Sussex Coast (from Chichester to Rye) from the existing average development rate of around 3,000 homes per year.

• Just under half (46%) would also support a 25% reduction in housing development in the rest of East Sussex from the current average development rate of around 400 homes per year.