Plans for new Sussex town meet with opposition

Up to 10,000 new homes could be built in Sussex countryside 10 miles north of Brighton.

Developers Mayfield Market Towns said a new town would create up to 10,000 jobs and help meet future housing needs in Brighton, Crawley, Burgess Hill and Horsham.

Mid Sussex District Council has declared its opposition to the plans.

Some villagers said they were concerned the town would destroy the countryside and put pressure on services.

The proposed 1,000 acre site sits between Hurstpierpoint and Henfield. If the plans go ahead, at least three primary schools will be built.

Lee Newlyn, from the developer Mayfield Market Towns, said: "What we're trying to offer local people is a choice.

"Rather than having continued add-ons to villages and towns in the area, they have a choice of providing it in a new settlement in the countryside which is detached from existing settlements."

One Hurstpierpoint resident, who did not want to be named, said the plans should be "totally dismissed".

"I think it's a crazed idea, I've heard about it today and I cannot believe it," he said.

Another resident said she thought the new town would be feasible "providing the road systems were OK".

If planning permission is granted, construction would start in 2017 and take an estimated 20 years to complete.