A CAMPAIGN group has accused a developer of “social cleansing” with a new housing development.

A planning application for the Phoenix Industrial Estate in Lewes has been made for 416 homes, 165 of which have been labelled affordable.

The applicants, the Santon Group and Lewes District Council, claim 40% of the housing will be affordable for families, single young people and the elderly.

But campaign group Lewes Stop The Cuts, which told The Argus it has sampled local market prices, said their hopes would be dashed. It claims only 95 homes of the 416 will be available for general rental and says rents “could be up to £350 a week”.

The group also claims prospective owners of part-rent/part-buy properties would need an income of about £30,000 to buy “even the smallest share of the smallest home”.

It also bemoans the large number of two-bedroom dwellings put forward, claiming they are “preferred by buy-to-let speculators”, pricing out first-time buyers.

Chris Smith, of Lewes Stop The Cuts, said the development amounted to social cleansing as he believes the homes will be out of reach for most people.

He said: “We are already losing many young people from Lewes because they cannot afford to live here.

“They are our future and we cannot afford their loss.

“Our older residents also face housing problems and this scheme will do little to help them.”

The joint developers submitted their planning application earlier this month for what has been dubbed the North Street Quarter.

A decision, to be taken by the South Downs National Park Authority because of the council’s involvement, is due by the end of the year.

A spokeswoman representing Santon and Lewes District Council said: “We are committed to optimising the affordability of the 40% affordable housing in the scheme.

“Working together, Santon North Street and the council as the local housing authority, will make the most of any government funding available at the time of delivering construction.”

As well as ensuring they house those registered as in need, the developers also said 38 homes, including two-bedroom homes, would be offered to buyers who had worked or lived locally for a fixed period, possibly supported by a government low-deposit scheme.

The first phase of the scheme also includes 51 “extra care” flats for older people.