Plans for 140 new homes in Rye will be discussed by Rye Town Council (RTC) on Monday, December 9. The proposals will be examined as part of an agenda item on the updated Rye Neighbourhood Plan. A six week consultation on the plan ended in November.
As we revealed last week in Rye News Martello Developments unveiled plans for new homes on four sites in Rye at a meeting at the George. The proposals include new housing at the Freda Gardham / creative centre site along with building at Rock Channel and Tilling Green.
The fourth location Martello hope to build new housing on has proved extremely controversial. The development on the Harbour Road is a greenfield site at risk of flooding and is currently not in the neighbourhood plan. RTC's planning committee last week strongly supported demands for the "strategic gap" between Rye and Rye Harbour to be maintained.
The Harbour Road site could also be the location of a new Rye Creative Centre if Martello's plans are approved. The developers met some of the artists on the centre's current site on Friday, November 29.
Comments in Rye News and on social media have reflected the need for affordable / social housing in Rye, along with concerns about how local services (housing, education and sewage) will cope with the new development. The flood risk has also been raised.
Ahead of the town council's meeting on Monday, Rye mayor Andy Stuart has criticized the way the plans for the development were revealed. "While Martello is to be thanked for making its widespread plans known to the wider public via Rye News' report last week, I am disappointed that Rye Town Council wasn't invited to the George meeting as a 'key stakeholder' in Rye. Martello had informally briefed RTC a few weeks ago, but it would have been useful to see how their plans have developed in the interim, and we have had to rely on press reports. At next Monday's Full Council Meeting, the Town Council will be discussing the sites being considered by Martello in relation to the review of the Rye Neighbourhood Plan.”
A spokesperson for Martello Developments told Rye News a number of engagement events are planned aimed at the whole community. "Martello is committed to listening to, engaging with, and learning from stakeholders. As these proposals emerge it is important that we meet with as many people as possible. We have spent time engaging with Rye Town Council and look forward to working more with them in due course. In the two meetings that we have had so far with the town council we have been very grateful for the contributions made by Cllrs Andy Stuart and Chris Hoggart, the proposals have remained largely the same since we last met with them in October. We look forward to further meetings in the coming weeks and months."Plans for the new homes are unlikely to be officially submitted until the summer of 2025. A website with more detail on the proposals is expected to be launched before Christmas.
Rye News will have a full report on Monday's meeting at the town hall in next week's edition.
