Homes England is working with Mid Sussex District Council and developers to provide affordable, quality homes and a well-planned community at Brookleigh, Burgess Hill.

An investment of £61m will cover essential infrastructure alongside housing development, whilst prioritising biodiversity. Work includes creating new habitats such as ponds and wildflower meadows, whilst also preserving existing habitats. Additionally, the development will promote active lifestyles and ensure sustainable practices for long-term environmental health.

We caught up with Graham Hyslop, Homes England Regional Development Director to find out more.

As the government’s housing and regeneration agency, we’re committed to providing affordable, quality homes in well-planned communities to improve people’s lives. We work with partners to regenerate areas and deliver housing, aiming for social justice and community advancement across England. You can find out more about what we do in our Strategic Plan 2023 – 28^[1].

We’ve secured land at Brookleigh in Burgess Hill and are working with developers and contractors to build homes, as well as essential infrastructure like roads and schools. Our investment of around £61 million will cover bridges, parks, primary and secondary schools, sports facilities and more. We’re also focused on boosting biodiversity by enhancing habitats and creating wildlife corridors. A wildlife bridge over the River Adur is already in place, for example.

The council identified the site for development in its plan to provide high-quality homes for local people in an area with high need. Before Homes England got involved, a group of landowners had been promoting the project for a while, but they couldn’t move forward with development because of the complex infrastructure needed. We stepped in, acquired the land in 2017 – 2018 and started installing the necessary infrastructure to make the project feasible.

It’s all part of the ambitious Burgess Hill Strategic Growth Programme, which will create thousands of jobs and homes. The plan is to enable modern living within an environmentally sustainable community that’s connected to Burgess Hill and the surrounding areas. ​

Brookleigh will provide 3,500 new homes surrounded by 80 hectares of open space. At least 30% of the homes will be affordable housing, with a 70% – 30% split between affordable rent and shared ownership.

The new schools and community facilities will all be connected by pedestrian and cycle networks. There will be easy access to public transport and electric charging points.​

We’re working with Mid Sussex District Council, West Sussex County Council, developer partners and new residents to support the creation of a vibrant and successful place. This includes the appointment of a Community Development Officer and setting up a Community Liaison Forum to enable direct engagement with residents.

Outline Planning Permission was secured in October 2019, and we started building critical infrastructure in 2020. House building began shortly afterwards and our first residents moved into their new homes in 2023. There have been 141 homes (all affordable) occupied to date, with a further 900 under contract to start building over the next couple of years. We’re expecting the development to take about another ten years to complete.

Mid Sussex has a lot going for it. Transport links to places like London, Gatwick, nearby towns and the South Coast means less dependence on cars.

There is a growing network of cycling and walking routes. We’re extending the Burgess Hill Green Circle – a ring of connected open spaces encompassing the town and surrounding areas. There are three neighbourhood parks and an expanded Bedelands Nature Reserve. Plus, residents are a skip and a hop from the South Downs National Park and High Weald, a designated, beautiful and valuable National Landscape (formerly known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

Recognising the need for flexible workspace to support small or new businesses, we’ll provide up to 24,000m² of employment land south of the A2300, suitable for various uses including offices and research and development space.

The employment land is situated near site of the Science and Technology Park allocation, north of the A2300. It’s expected to create many jobs for Sussex residents, and we’re providing pedestrian and cycle networks from Brookleigh to the Park site to ensure good connectivity.

We recognise our achievements are the result of strong partnerships. Homes England has close relationships with key partners, which enables us to ensure Brookleigh meets the needs of the local community, councils and the environment. By partnering with community organisations and leaders in the Mid Sussex region, we’ll develop a Community Engagement Strategy in collaboration with Mid Sussex District Council.

The largest single source of carbon emissions in Mid Sussex is fuel consumption from homes^[1], so by designing low-emission homes in car-optional neighbourhoods, we’re helping to contribute towards long-term sustainability in the district.

We’ll keep a firm eye on the horizon too, to make sure these principles are upheld. This includes compliance with Building for Healthy Life, which is England’s most widely used design tool for creating places that are good for people and nature. We also require proof of an environmentally sustainable approach to the construction process, and are now mandating Building with Nature compliance.

We’re also developing with car-reduction in mind. Plus we’re planting climate-resilient street trees and introducing Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems to reduce flood risk and support biodiversity. Rainwater will be slowed down to reduce downstream flooding, even in heavy storms. These systems could potentially provide non-drinking water for reuse in future.

There are three hubs and every home in the development will be within ten minutes’ walk of local shops and facilities.

With over 16km of foot and cycle paths, residents can easily leave the car at home. The Green Superhighway will act as the main active travel route connecting neighbourhood centres. We’ll also establish secondary routes called ‘green spokes’ into nearby open spaces and extend the Burgess Hill Green Circle route from Gatehouse Lane to Freeks Lane.

A network of pedestrian and cycle links will connect Brookleigh to the wider town. We’re also planning three new neighbourhood parks, including allotments and a community orchard.

Homes England commits to preserving, enhancing and creating habitat for native British wildlife at Brookleigh, covering 44% of the development site with 82.05 hectares of strategic green infrastructure.

While obligated to achieve a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain, prioritising biodiversity is expected to result in a 23% net gain.

Brookleigh features diverse habitats like ancient woodland, mature trees, hedgerows, grassland, watercourses and ponds. Existing ancient woodland and hedgerows will be preserved and enhanced where possible. New woodland, ponds and wildflower meadows will be created, with around 200,000 new trees, shrubs and plants to enhance local biodiversity and climate resilience.