Protect Our Countryside
Help Us Stop the Ashdown and Owlsbury Developments
Public Consultation started on 6th February 2026 and will run until 5pm on Friday, 20th March 2026
Our mission
SABRE-OWL was formed to provide information and a solution-based approach to the general public on two inappropriate planned developments in Wealden, The Ashdown Business Park Extension and the Owlsbury Farm ‘Neighbourhood’.
The Draft Regulation 18 (2) Local Plan public consultation will start in February 2026.
We aim to offer information to the general public, who also wanted to object to these developments, as to how to respond to this Local Plan to avoid them appearing in the plan.
Our Local Plan Response Guide
Our guide aimed to underline the critical importance of a well-formulated Local Plan, one that is robust, forward-thinking, and inclusive of public input.
Promoting a successful Local Plan
The success of the Local Plan is paramount, as it serves as a blueprint for the future development and conservation of the area, impacting every aspect of community life.
Your Voice Is Making a Difference
Community engagement has already delivered tangible results. The 2022 Ashdown Business Park Expansion application was halted in early 2023, neither ABPE nor Owlsbury were allocated in the 2024 Draft Local Plan, and both current applications remain ungranted. In the 2026 Draft Local Plan, ABPE is only presented as an option – not an allocation – and Owlsbury is not an unconditional allocation, with a scenario that excludes it entirely. These distinctions are significant and have been achieved through sustained community response. Continued participation at each consultation stage remains essential to ensure these sites do not progress by default.
Respond to the Local Plan consultation here:
https://sabreowl.com/localplan/
77
Acres of warehousing & offices
413
Acres of housing
1,500+
Houses
1
Deadline to object!
One Voice for Our Green Spaces: Standing Together Against Inappropriate Development
What we are concerned about
The challenge we face in Wealden is to provide prosperity, jobs and homes for our growing population while protecting the climate and the unique habitat of the Weald. We are concerned that these two inappropriate plans will be allocated on the Local Plan.
unjustified commercial development
Ashdown Business Park Extension
The draft Local Plan says that Wealden needs a huge amount of land allocated to industrial and warehouse development for employment purposes. The amount is measured against a historic trend and development just carries on throughout the plan period. It does not take into account the needs of the population and the impact on the natural environment of a rural district and the already overburdened capacity of its infrastructure.
The Local Plan already allocates enough land to create the jobs the future population needs. There is no justification for allocating the Ashdown Business Park extension for industrial and warehousing land. If it were to be allocated it would conflict with the principles of the Local Plan and there would be substantial harmful impacts on the environment and our infrastructure cannot cope with the increased traffic.
77
Acres
A272 & A22
Affected
green arable site
Owlsbury Farm proposed ‘neighbourhood development’
At this stage, Wealden has a target of 1,457 homes to be built each year to 2042. This target is set by central Government. The Local Plan is, therefore, looking to include this number. Wealden has only been building 709 homes each year on average for the last 10 years so hitting the new target would mean a 100% increase in the number of built homes in the District.
Whilst the Owlsbury Farm neighbourhood would provide 1,500 homes, the location of the site is inappropriate and not based on good town planning. It is disconnected from Uckfield and does not present a sustainable solution.
1,500
New Homes
413
Acres Gone
Local Plan – Public Consultation
The next stage of consultation will begin in February 2026. We remain committed to offering guidance on the next stages of the process.
We want to stop the Ashdown Business Park Expansion
A planning application was submitted to Wealden in December 2022. It is for 77 acres of commercial warehousing and office space which will extend the current Ashdown Business Park. This huge development is not needed and will destroy wildlife, woodland and the strategic gap between Maresfield and Piltdown. This idea is now being considered as part of the Local Plan process.
We want to stop Owlsbury Farm Neighbourhood Site
The planning application has now been submitted, this potential site spanning a huge 413 acres at Little Horsted, Owlsbury Farm has been suggested for housing development. The ‘neighbourhood’ would comprise 1,500 homes, shops, a community hall and a school as well as employment space and would urbanise a major area of the Wealden open countryside and sensitive landscape.
The Wealden Local Plan response – your voice matters
The next stage of the consultation of the draft Wealden Local Plan consultation will start in February 2026. It will still refer to the Ashdown Business Park Expansion and Owlsbury Farm. We will keep these pages updated as things change.