Hellingly villagers protest against plans to build 280 homes on flood-prone East Sussex farmland

From the Newshound archive · first published 23 September 2026.

More than 50 residents gathered in the East Sussex village of Hellingly to oppose a Hallam Land Management proposal for as many as 280 homes on a 16-hectare field at Shawpits Farm. Villagers warned that Mill Lane, a medieval single-track road serving the site, floods regularly and cannot cope with additional traffic. Parish council vice chairman Doug Lewin said the village is not anti-housebuilding but insists the site, near the flood-prone Cuckmere River, is unsuitable for development. Wealden District Council is considering the application.