RESIDENTS worried about a major housing development set to expand into the green cushion around their town must wait until autumn for a decision.

Barratt Homes’ plans for up to 450 homes at Lower Hoddern Farm in Peacehaven were due to be determined in June.

Lewes District Council said it was still awaiting key documents from East Sussex County Council but hoped to be able to make a decision in the upcoming months.

More than 60 objections have been registered with the district council.

This week, Peacehaven town councillors voted to amend their objection to the scheme following legal advice.

The authority had agreed at a council meeting in April to request the scheme not go ahead until local infrastructure improved to meet the needs of more residents.

The town council said it would object to all new housing applications until improved provisions in transport, schools and doctor and dental surgeries had been made.

Following advice, councillors were informed the restriction would be an unfair demand on developers and voted to drop it from their objection.

Lower Hoddern Farm is allocated for 450 homes within the Lewes Core Strategy – one of the biggest single developments allocated in the local plan to provide 6,900 homes by 2030.

The application, submitted in March, seeks full planning consent for 143 homes and outline planning for two later parts of the scheme totalling 307 homes.

Forty per cent of the homes would be affordable meaning 180 flats, starter homes and large family homes being made available for affordable rent or shared equity.

The housebuilder had hoped to have the first homes ready for occupation in the spring which could be hampered by the delay in the decision.

Councillor Brian Gosling, a member of the town council’s planning and transport committee, said while the authority was no longer able to request the additional infrastructure be put in place before the homes could be built, the authority’s objection to the scheme remained.

Cllr Gosling added there was growing uncertainty in the town over when a decision would be made on the plans.

A Lewes District Council spokesman said: “The council is still waiting for a response from East Sussex County Council highways authority.

“We are hoping for a determination date in the autumn but that could change.”

A new website by Barratt asking for families to register their interest for new homes in Peacehaven has sparked concerns from residents that the scheme is already a “done deal”.

A Barratt spokeswoman said: “The planning decision for our development has yet to be taken. This is definitely not a done deal.

“As a builder of quality new homes and creator of communities, we are obliged to demonstrate a real local need for the type of housing that we have proposed for Lower Hoddern Farm.

“As part of this we are proactively testing people’s interest in the proposed new homes should the development be granted planning consent.”