Ford’s £1.4m bonus if 700 homes are built

But while the Eco-Town was bitterly opposed by communities in Ford, Yapton and other villages nearby, the new development appears to have the backing of Ford Parish Council, which is working with landowners and a house-builder to achieve the best deal for the village.

A group of parish councillors drawing up Ford’s neighbourhood plan, setting out where housing, business sites and community facilities should go in future, with input from villagers, has agreed to a “rough plan” for 700 homes on the airfield site, together with a primary school.

Two meetings of the group have already taken place and at the latest, last month, it was pointed out by the house-builder that the parish council would receive a 20 per cent share of the new Community Infrastructure Levy from new homes, which could be as much as £1.4m if 700 were built.

The scheme is at a very early stage and the neighbourhood plan itself, including the proposed development, would be the subject of a village referendum before it was adopted by the parish council.

Parish council chairman has described the neighbourhood plan as a “golden opportunity” for Ford villagers to have their say in how they wanted the village to look in the future.

He told one of the meetings that villagers would be given their opportunity to express their desire for the area and if their desire was for nothing to happen at all, then that is what will be included in the plan.

Mr Ford added that he had met the main landowner, who was open to the public’s ideas for the area such as woods, a “trim trail”, self-build plots, housing, affordable housing, village shops, village meeting rooms, village greens, a public swimming pool, market area or nothing at all.

If necessary, it could be a plan for the next 50 years, he said.

An initial survey of people living in Ford has revealed strong support for the village to remain rural.

Other ideas put forward by the neighbourhood plan group have included a public house, walkways, using waste sites on the airfield to generate power, new shops, chemist and two new doctors’ surgeries and road improvements, as well as the primary school.