Brookworth Homes has submitted a planning application to build 250 houses on the Goldbridge Farm site, threatening to destroy our countryside, overwhelm local infrastructure, and fundamentally change the character of Newick forever.
New houses proposed
Lost acres of countryside
Population increase
The local GP surgery is already overwhelmed, with patients waiting up to a month for an appointment or being sent 15 miles to Heathfield.
Adding 750 extra patients would push our health services into crisis.
Newick is a rural village where most residents rely on car travel to commute. The A272, the main thoroughfare through the village, is already extremely busy, with drivers experiencing daily congestion.
With pedestrian access from the proposed development severely limited, it’s likely that even more residents will be forced to drive into the village—further exacerbating traffic and creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians.
Newick and surrounding areas are facing a severe school places crisis. Every local institution is already oversubscribed for September 2025 - in some cases by more than double.
| School | Spaces Available | Applications Received |
|---|---|---|
| Newick Primary | 30 | 43 |
| Fletching Primary | 15 | 22 |
| Chailey Secondary | 180 | 511 |
| Uckfield College | 270 | 422 |
Goldbridge is productive farmland that underpins our local food security, not a brownfield site. Its loss would irrevocably alter Newick’s character, erasing the beautiful countryside and scarring the stunning views toward Fletching.
Development seriously threatens wildlife habitats and poses a pollution nightmare, concreting over our beautiful rural setting
Raw sewage is already being discharged into our environment. Spills have been recorded at Jackies Lane and the Waste Water Treatment Works.
Now imagine the impact of 250 more homes. Our sewage system is already failing - adding hundreds more residents would be a disaster, overwhelming an infrastructure that’s already overflowing.
Footpath 11 connects Cricketfield to The Green, running beside the village store. It will be the main pedestrian access to the proposed site — but it’s less than 1 metre wide, steep, and enclosed.
Average cost of Brookworth houses: £700k - £1.25m
‘Affordable’ housing typically refers to homes priced at up to 80% of the market rate—and developers often achieve this by offsetting construction in lower-priced areas to maximize their profits.
This means any 'affordable' houses could be built elsewhere in the county.
The cost of so-called “affordable” housing is also already extremely high. For example, a 2–3-bedroom home on a shared-equity scheme in Newick typically costs per month:
"The large numbers of housing being developed across Sussex and more specifically with Lewes District and Newick, will place a significant additional demand upon our police service. These impacts will be demonstrated in this submission and the necessity investment in additional police services is a key planning consideration in determination of this planning application."
- The Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex (PCC)
Newick Parish Council object to the development
Brookworth Homes don't care about our village, they care about their bottom line.
Brookworth Homes is a volume housebuilder specialising in large-scale, luxury residential developments across the South East. Founded in 2011, the company has built over 15,000 homes.
Headquarters: Reigate, Surrey
Annual Revenue: £23.4 million (2024)
Typical Development Size: 200-800 homes
Typical House Price: £700k - £1.25m
Brookworth Homes has faced significant community opposition in several recent developments:
The planning committee will make their decision on 01 September 2025. Every objection is critical in stopping this inappropriate development.
Object now, using our template. It takes 5 mins max!
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The countdown to decide Newick’s future has begun
