550 homes off Imberhorne Lane, 165 affordable, approved 9-0 on 17 September. What gets built, and the 150-home cap until the school's new pitches open.

Updated 20 October: the District Planning Committee approved the plans on 17 September, 9 votes to none. The minutes were published with the 15 October agenda. On 20 October the council’s planning portal still showed the application as “Awaiting decision”, so the formal decision notice has not yet been issued.

The detailed design of 550 new homes on farmland off Imberhorne Lane in East Grinstead has been approved. Mid Sussex District Council’s District Planning Committee voted unanimously for it on Thursday 17 September, with 9 in favour. Councillor Whittaker proposed it and Councillor Sweatman seconded it.

Reserved matters consent was granted subject to the conditions in the report, as amended by the agenda update sheet. Officers had recommended approval.

It is the biggest housing scheme in East Grinstead in years. The site covers about 83.5 hectares, mostly arable land to the south and west of Imberhorne School, about 1.9km north-west of the town centre. The figures come from the officer report for application DM/26/0131.

What the committee decided

The principle is already settled. The council granted hybrid permission (DM/23/2699) on 23 December 2025 for:

  • up to 550 homes
  • a care village of 150 homes
  • land for a two-form-entry primary school
  • a mixed-use neighbourhood centre
  • allotments and open space
  • a new roundabout on Imberhorne Lane and a spine road through the site
  • a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), a large new public open space
  • new playing fields and sports facilities for Imberhorne School

This application covered only the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the 550 homes. The report says traffic and highway capacity were dealt with at the outline stage and “this application does not represent an opportunity to revisit those matters”. The school, the neighbourhood centre and the care village each need their own application later.

What would be built

Of the 550 homes, 385 would be sold on the open market and 165 would be affordable. That is 30%, which the report calls policy compliant.

Type Market Affordable
1 bed flat or maisonette 0 33
2 bed flat or unit 15 30
2 bed house 0 61
3 bed house 171 33
4 bed house 162 8
5 bed house 37 0
Total 385 165

Most homes would be two storeys. Two-and-a-half storey houses would line the spine road and frame a central green of about 78m by 90m. There would be three-storey blocks of flats in five places, including either side of the land kept for the school.

The plans show 1,428 parking spaces in total. That includes 964 allocated spaces, 264 garages and 74 visitor spaces. The county highway authority raised no objection.

The heritage objection

Three listed buildings sit just south of the site, reached along bridleway 44b:

  • Gullege, grade II*
  • 1-3 Imberhorne Farm Cottages, grade II*
  • Imberhorne Farmhouse, grade II

The council’s own Conservation Officer says the scheme will harm their setting and “has failed to minimise the harm arising to heritage assets”. Historic England asked for a wide, densely planted buffer along the whole southern boundary to keep “a semblance of their rural setting”.

The planning officer accepts there is harm, and a conflict with heritage policies in both the District Plan and the East Grinstead Neighbourhood Plan. The report classes the harm as less than substantial and concludes the public benefits outweigh it.

What neighbours said

The original plans drew 12 letters of objection and the amended plans three more. Concerns included:

  • traffic on already congested roads, and a single access for so many homes
  • water supply and sewage capacity
  • local flooding
  • the loss of green space and wildlife habitat
  • highway improvements that objectors say have not yet been delivered
  • a request for a controlled crossing on Imberhorne Lane

East Grinstead Town Council recommended approval. It asked for a thorough flood risk assessment, citing flooding in the SA19 development area.

On sewage, the report says two pumping stations on site would discharge to the public sewer in Imberhorne Lane, “to which capacity has been confirmed”. South East Water agreed the water connection at the outline stage.

What has to be built before people move in

The legal agreement signed with the December permission ties the infrastructure to how many homes are occupied. Those triggers were not up for debate at the meeting, but they are the answer to the most common objection.

What must be in place before Imberhorne homes can be occupied Occupation triggers for the 550 homes at Imberhorne, East Grinstead. The greenspace comes before the first home. The bridleway scheme is submitted before the 50th and completed before the 100th. No more than 150 homes until the new school playing fields and northern path open. Education and highways money is paid in stages at 150, 300 and 450 homes. No more than 399 homes until the neighbourhood centre is built. No more than 75 per cent until the open space and play area are provided. The allotments pass to the town council before the 475th home. What must be in place before homes can be occupied Imberhorne, East Grinstead. Section 106 triggers and condition 22 of the December 2025 permission. Source: officer report DM/26/0131, paras 12.130 to 12.133. Before 1st homeThe SANG, the new public greenspace, must be provided Before 50thBridleway and Imberhorne Lane crossing scheme sent to the county council Before 100thThat bridleway and crossing scheme completed Before 150thFirst third (33%) of the off-site highways money paid Cap at 150Until the school’s new pitches, 3G pitch, athletics track and northern path open Before 300thHalf the education and libraries money, second third of highways, rights of way money Cap at 399Until the neighbourhood centre is built Cap at 75%Until the open space and the equipped play area are provided Before 450thThe rest of the education, libraries and highways money Before 475thAllotment land handed to East Grinstead Town Council Darker markers are caps: no more homes may be occupied until the item is delivered. 75% of 550 homes is about 412. Graphic by Mid Sussex News

The single most useful number for the town is 150. Under condition 22 of the December permission, no more than 150 homes can be lived in until Imberhorne School’s replacement playing fields are open for school and community use. That package includes grass pitches, a 3G artificial pitch, an athletics track, cricket nets, a pavilion, parking and sports lighting. The northern path and cycle link must also be open.

What it means for you

  • The design is settled. The vote fixed the layout, heights and landscaping of the 550 homes. The school, the neighbourhood centre and the 150-home care village still need their own detailed applications, and each will be open to comment.
  • Watch the 150 cap. No more than 150 homes can be lived in until Imberhorne School’s replacement pitches, track and the northern path are open, under condition 22.
  • If you use bridleway 44b or the Worth Way, the southern edge of the estate and its planting will be the part you see. The report says the landscaping along that boundary will “help soften the development from the bridleway to the south”.
  • The meeting is on record. The council’s minutes link to a full recording on its YouTube channel.

We track every major scheme on our Mid Sussex planning news page.

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