Aldingbourne in outright rejection of housing proposals as unsustainable

They have formally told Arun District Council about their opposition to its proposal to earmark land around the Westergate, Barnham and Eastergate area for 2,500 homes.

The idea is one of three options for new housing before 2026 which Arun District Council had issued for consultation. It has alarmed villagers and Aldingbourne Parish Council reflected that opposition in its formal comments to the district council.

John Penfold, the parish council's chairman, said: "It has taken nearly 1,000 years for Aldingbourne to reach its current size.

"It would be catastrophic to increase it 2.5 times in just 17 years. Current housing need in Aldingbourne is around 30, with 22 in Eastergate.

"To build a bypass round Westergate funded by housing development in order to benefit Bognor Regis, to quote an often repeated slogan, would be 'taking a sledge hammer to crack a nut', and would be no justification for such a decision."

Aldingbourne has about 3,850 residents. The parish council said it would be completely unsustainable to add several thousand newcomers to them.

Among the main reasons for this opinion are the impact of the new homes on the area's roads, schools and the lack of jobs locally.

There was also the issue of flooding in the low-lying area which had a history of such incidents.

"Recent serious flooding has occurred in 1975, 1994 and 2000. In the latter year, three out of four of the access routes into Westergate were impassable.

"Our emergency team needs to keep a permanent supply of sandbags available," said Cllr Penfold, who wrote the submission approved by his fellow councillors.

"The whole of this area south of the A27 has high ground water levels in the winter." Added to this are worries about sewage treatments.

The parish council backed its comments with the views of the Villages Action Group, which organised a packed public meeting in Aldingbourne in February where outright opposition to the homes was expressed.

Instead of putting the housing around their parish, the Aldingbourne councillors said it should be placed in North Bersted.

But they said improvements to the A259 were needed to cope with the influx of new residents and that new jobs were required.

They were also fearful that the development would become just another example of urban sprawl.

They called for the balance of housing '“ 400-900 homes '“ needed to be on greenfield sites to be spread around the villages rather than concentrated in one location.

As for the 5,000-home Ford eco-town proposals, the parish councillors declined to give an opinion. They said the village should take some development of housing and employment uses if the eco-town is rejected.

But they reserved detailed comment for any planning application which would be submitted if the scheme proceeded.

What do you think? Click here to send a letter or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.

MAP