Dear Supporter,

Our battle to get justice over the Hesmond’s Planning Application has gone on for a long time, cost a lot of money and suffered a significant set-back in November when a Judge did not grant permission for the case to proceed. However, we applied for an Oral Hearing to appeal that decision.

The Oral Hearing took place on January 12th and our Barrister Jenny Wigley QC argued our case clearly and strongly. The case was based on 2 Grounds - A failure to consider the housing mix for the proposed development and misleading the Planning Committee over their ability to restrict the number of houses at Reserve Matters. The Judge agreed and dismissed the arguments of the legal teams representing Wealden District Council and Hesmond’s Stud. We now have permission for a full Judicial Review Hearing on both our Grounds. This is a really significant moment and, although the official wording of the decision is yet to be published, it was joyous to hear a Judge summarise our case as having a very strong basis to take forward.

The Full Hearing took place on May 24th. This was the final stage of the process of the Judicial Review.

Once the full decision has been published we will let you know the plan of action.

Village Concerns Steering Committee