Developers East Sussex minutes: 12 May 2026
Meeting details
Date: 12 May 2026
Time: 3pm
Location: Microsoft Teams
See the list of attendees and apologies for this meeting.
1. Welcome and introductions
1.1 JB welcomed the attendees and advised that the ‘theme’ of the meeting is Skills and Employment in the Construction Sector.
2. Review of previous minutes, 10 March 2026
2.1 JB noted that the previous action (NF to follow-up with SL to invite Southern Water partners to join/ engage with the DES forum) is still in progress.
2.2 The minutes were approved as an accurate record of the meeting.
3. Skills Analysis in Construction
3.1 Introduced at the last DES meeting, BH recalled the Regional Skills Analysis work being conducted by the South East Construction Technical Excellence College (SECTEC) and the South East Housing and Development Group (SE HDG), aiming to better understand the labour and skills challenges affecting housing delivery. DES colleagues were previously invited to input via a survey, and two roundtable discussions were also held in February 2026.
3.2 BH provided a brief overview of the outcomes via a short presentation, referencing a summary note and the full Skills Analysis in Construction Final Report, all of which had been shared with DES colleagues beforehand. Housing delivery in the southeast is constrained by viability pressures, planning delays and regulatory complexity, but the main inhibitor (as flagged many times at DES meetings) is market confidence. Perhaps surprisingly, while skills shortages did feature in most respondents’ top-10, it did not rate amongst the biggest inhibitors – skills shortages clearly do exist but are currently moderated by lower levels of construction activity. However, the industry is going through a structural change, with growing interest in digital, low-carbon and modern methods of construction (MMC), all with their own skills challenges. Skills shortages are likely to be exposed when housing delivery accelerates, so if we want to bring people into the industry, we need to adapt the skills offer and give clear pathways/progression. BH encouraged colleagues to read through the shared documents.
3.3 CM and DG echoed the report’s mention of “viability pressures and planning delays”, commenting that it’s a challenge to create truly viable sites as costs can often run away by the time planning is granted.
3.4 HB queried where the biggest skills gaps are. NF responded that the lack of activity is currently masking the gaps in general construction, so shortages are concentrated in key roles, particularly compliance functions such as building control and fire engineering, alongside core site trades and ‘pressure points’ associated with Building Safety Act compliance. But as stated in the report, “weak workforce pipelines mean shortages are likely to intensify as delivery increases”.
4. ESCC Employment and Skills
4.1 HB and KT delivered a presentation on the County Council’s Employment and Skills Team, to introduce the team’s key areas of work and how they impact the construction sector. Key topics and programmes included:
- Connect to Work, helping employers access skilled candidates for free;
- Skills Bootcamps for adult learners, designed with local employers to help fill gaps in priority-sector workforces, including Construction, Engineering and Land Based;
- Skills East Sussex Task Groups, including Engineering and Manufacturing, Construction, and Retrofit;
- Social Value, including wider Section 106 support;
- The Careers Hub, covering Open Doors, Industry Champions and Enterprise Advisers; and
- Apprenticeship Incentives and upcoming Apprenticeship Roadshows on 29 June in Eastbourne and 9 July in Hastings.
4.2 CM noted the reference to roofing and scaffolding support (SES Construction Task Group activities), which he had previously found to be potential problem areas, so are worth exploring ready for when the sector picks up again. DS flagged a recent Skills to Build Report from the Centre for Social Justice, which identifies roofing as an ‘at risk’ trade, along with glazing, carpenters and electricians.
4.3 HB pointed colleagues to the Careers East Sussex or East Sussex County Council websites for more information on the above programmes. Any questions for the ESCC Employment and Skills Team should be directed to employersupport@eastsussex.gov.uk.
5. Plumpton College
5.1 DK introduced Plumpton College, a specialist land-based college in the county of Lewes which, alongside its legislative training and assessment service LandPro Training, is a CITB approved provider, training individuals to work safely and competently on live construction sites. The college is looking to engage with developers and the construction supply chain to provide insight/feedback to support the development of their wider offer to deliver green infrastructure related training for operatives, site managers and supervisors.
5.2 While the college is not a general construction trades provider, it does provide specialist green-focused provision alongside its land and environment focused offer. This includes construction landscaping apprenticeships, employer-designed short courses and skills bootcamps (as mentioned in the previous agenda item) aimed at supporting employment or promotion in the construction industry. Programme content varies and can include Site Supervisor Safety Training, carbon aware site practises and sustainable materials use in landscaping and public realm. The college is also keen to start developing their offer further with training in areas such as sustainable drainage (SuDS) and surface water features; green infrastructure and planning compliance requirements; green wall and roof design and build; Biodiversity NET Gain delivery; and Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) testing.
5.3 Any DES colleagues interested in supporting the college to enhance/develop its offer are encouraged to get in touch with DK and SE directly:
- Dan Karlsson, Director of Business Services: dan.karlsson@plumpton.ac.uk
- Sinead Elford, Head of LandPro and Professional Training: sinead.elford@plumpton.ac.uk
6. Market conditions / open forum
6.1 CM reported little change in the residential sales market, which continues to perform reasonably well overall but with some very patchy areas, as some sites are buoyant while others are much harder work. Similarly, the affordable housing market remains steady, with new-to-the-market ‘for profit’ Registered Providers (RPs) helping the overall situation. DG advised that the commercial market has quietened somewhat, with interest in sites dying down, largely due to wider market conditions (global circumstances impacting fuel costs etc). He also noted an apparent increase in the cost and availability of materials.
7. Homes England update
7.1 RM confirmed that Homes England (HE) launched its new National Housing Bank (offering affordable, flexible loans and financing options to support SME developers) alongside its new National Housing Delivery Fund (capital grant funding to help unlock sites to accelerate housing delivery) on 1 April 2026, as planned. He added that HE’s new regionalised operating model also came into effect from 1 April, with DES falling under the South region, led by Kate McBride as Executive Regional Director. Plus, HE has moved forward with its ‘Nature Positive Plan’ (one of the objectives of HE’s five-year Strategic Plan published in December 2025) by signing up to the Homes for Nature initiative.
7.2 HB commented that MHCLG’s Brownfield Land Release Fund is also designed to unlock sites by enabling councils to release council-owned sites on brownfield land for housing development, and although the most recent funding round is now closed, hopefully further funding rounds will be announced in the near future.
7.3 RM reminded the group that the government’s new £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) launched in February 2026 with two available funding routes, and while applications through the Strategic Partnerships route closed on 15 April 2026, the Continuous Market Engagement (CME) route remains open.
7.4 RM concluded his update by noting that he and his colleagues were saddened by the recent death of Eamonn Boylan, who served as HE’s Interim Chief Exec last year.
8. Other DES updates – for information
8.1 MC advised that the first phase in developing a Local Supported Housing Strategy will get underway soon. The first phase is the ‘strategic needs assessment’, mapping existing supported housing provision alongside expected population changes to help identify any gaps in provision over the coming years. The needs assessment will be carried out between now and September 2026 – any colleagues already working in the supported housing sector are encouraged to offer their views/feedback to include in the evidence base. The second phase of ‘priority development’ will take place over the autumn. Local Supported Housing Strategies need to be in place across England by March 2027.
8.2 CB advised that a decision on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) has been delayed. The Secretary of State announced on 25 March 2026 that he was unable to make a final decision due to concerns over the proposed footprint of Brighton and Hove (see his update letter to council leaders). As a result, Brighton and Hove City Council formally requested a ‘modification’ to the single East Sussex unitary proposal, seeking to move four wards and one parish from Lewes into an expanded Brighton and Hove. MHCLG has now opened an additional, shorter consultation on the modified proposal between 12 May and 15 June 2026 (focused mostly on the views of the affected local authorities). We await further MHCLG announcements and decisions, but the overall timetable for LGR remains unchanged, with new unitarity authorities expected to run in shadow form from May 2027 until being fully established from April 2028.
8.3 On the separate process of Devolution, the new Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority (SBCCA) has now been established and has met for the first time. However, given the significant changes to councillors at both East and West Sussex County Councils following last week’s local elections, new representatives will need to be onboarded before the SBCCA’s next meeting.
8.4 Local Planning Authority colleagues provided the following updates on their draft Local Plans:
- Eastbourne Local Plan: No further update. The most recent Regulation 18 (Reg18) public consultation ran between 13 February and 10 April 2026.
- Hastings Local Plan: Reg18 public consultation ran from 20 February to 7 April 2026, with a good response rate. Colleagues are currently reviewing the comments and working to develop the Regulation 19 (Reg19) Pre Submission Local Plan for consultation later in the year.
- Lewes Local Plan: No further update. The Reg18 consultation on Phase 1 was completed at the start of last year, and the recent Phase 2 (spatial strategy and site allocations) Reg18 consultation ran from 18 December 2025 to 28 February 2026.
- Rother Local Plan: Proceeding well, with the most recent Reg18 public consultation running between 26 January and 23 March 2026. The Reg19 consultation is expected to launch in the autumn.
- Wealden Local Plan: Reg18 public consultation ran from 6 February to 27 March 2026. The Reg19 consultation is expected to launch late-summer/early-autumn.
8.5 KR advised that Arun DC is not currently seeking to update its Local Plan due to the added complexity of LGR. Consideration will instead be given to the preparation of a single Local Plan to cover the larger area once the geography for the new unitary authority is known.
8.6 CB reminded colleagues that the National Scheme of Delegation comes into effect in September 2026. It will bring changes, but should also help speed up the overall process.
8.7 JB urged colleagues to continue reaching out to partners to promote the DES forum as it expands into a pan-Sussex geography as ‘Developers Sussex’ (DeS).
9. Any other business (AOB)
9.1 JB advised that this year’s Leaders Dinner is still planned for autumn but will probably be held a little later than normal. Planning of the event is slightly behind the usual schedule due to the obvious impact of local elections – a date will be shared as soon as it’s confirmed.
Summary of actions
None.
Attendees and apologies
Attendees
- AJ, Alex Jones, Stantec
- AW, Alistair Wickens, Team East Sussex (TES)
- BB, Beverley Bayliss, East Sussex CC
- BH, Brian Horton, South East Housing & Development Group
- CB, Chris Bending, Wealden DC
- CM, Chris Moore, Bellway Homes
- DE, Dave Evans, East Sussex CC
- DG, Derek Godfrey, Westcotte Leach
- DK, Dan Karlsson, Plumpton College
- DS, David Smith, South East Consortium
- ERS, Elizabeth Ross-Smith, Greymoor
- ES, Edward Sheath, East Sussex CC
- GD, Guy Dixon, Savills
- HB, Hannah Brookshaw, East Sussex CC
- HD, Huw Davies, Sea Change Sussex
- JB, Jonathan Buckwell, DHA Planning (CHAIR)
- JS, John Stebbings, n/a - independent
- KB, Kim Bloxham, East Sussex CC
- KR, Karl Roberts, Arun DC
- KT, Kim Trathen, East Sussex CC
- LB, Lucinda Batcheler, Cavendish Consulting
- MB, Mark Bewsey, DHA Planning
- MC, Michael Courts, East Sussex CC
- NF, Nick Fenton, Nick Fenton Associates
- OM, Owen Mcleod, Marrons
- RJ, Richard Jones, East Sussex CC
- RM, Rob Moore, Homes England
- SE, Sinead Elford, Plumpton College
- SL, Steven Lewis, Southern Water
- SR, Stacey Robins, Wealden DC
Apologies
- CH, Chris Hancock, Hastings BC
- DH, Dawn Hudd, Arun DC
- RT, Ryan Trodden, MHCLG
- SH, Susan Hanson, Hastings BC