MCC Update – February 2023

We are very pleased to report that Wealden District Council (WDC) granted planning permission for the construction of the new Mayfield Community and Health Centre at its planning meeting on 19th January 2023. This is a major hurdle and opens the door to the next stages of the project.

We are also pleased to report that the offer submitted by the Parish Council to Fields in Trust (FIT) following negotiations in 2022 has been accepted. This means that the c.2 acre Brownfield area, currently occupied by the village hall and the associated car parking and including where the new community and health centre will be built, will be outside of FIT regulation in future. However, the Parish Council will be dedicating the remaining 12 acres of land in perpetuity for the sole benefit of the village as recreational land. This means, for example, that it will never be possible to build houses etc. on the land.

Owing to the extended timeline of the project the Parish Council has had to re-apply for the loan required to fund the community centre element of the project. This loan had previously been approved in 2021 and we do not anticipate any issues. Please note that WDC will be funding the health centre element as per the original agreement between the Parish Council and WDC in 2022.

The number of building companies interested in contracting for the project has now been reduced to a shortlist of five. These companies are due to submit their bids on 23rd February and the contract award is anticipated by 15th April 2023. This of course assumes that one or more bids are within budget. 

Information will continue to be available on the MCC section of the Parish Council website www.mayfieldfiveashes.org.uk and village Facebook site, or contact the clerk to the council (clerk@mayfieldfiveashes.org.uk).