Farm site earmarked for another 1,500 homes

The site north of Chalcraft Lane has been earmarked as the best location in the area for about 1,500 dwellings. They will be joined by about 30,000sq m of industrial premises and warehouses as well as community facilities such as shops, a school and a health centre.

The development would also feature a link road to connect Chichester Road with Lower Bognor Road to take away traffic from Chalcraft Lane.

The major scheme is intended to take shape after 2016. Some of the employment buildings could be started sooner to provide new jobs for the Bognor Regis area.

The site currently offers unrivalled views across unbroken farmland to the South Downs. North Bersted resident Mike Jupp said: "That is a special view which has been largely unchanged since the Middle Ages. That will go forever if this development goes ahead and that will be tragic.

" It's the only place around Bognor from which you can see the whole panorama of the South Downs. The area is a perfect example of a greenfield site and should not be built upon."

Cllr Ricky Bower, in charge of the council's planning service, said: "Arun faces some major challenges ahead, arising from development and the supporting infrastructure, services and facilities required to bring about major growth and regeneration.

"Decisions made now will shape how Arun looks and what it has to offer in years to come.

"That future has to be carefully planned around meeting the district's needs and making the right choices for our residents, their families, friends and the future generations who will settle in our district."

News of the proposals was revealed by Arun District Council this week. They will begin to be debated next Tuesday.

If councillors agree then, and at a meeting on September 12, the proposals will be subject to six weeks of public consultation from October 4. A final decision by councillors about allocating the land will then be made.

The major development '“ with four out of every ten homes as affordable housing '“ forms the centrepiece of Arun's blueprint for building during the next 20 years.

It has been included in what is called the core strategy of the local development framework of council planning documents.

The strategy has taken two years' work by Arun planning officers to devise. They have looked at the district's needs for housing and jobs and assessed where best they should be placed.

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