Littlehampton regeneration scheme "threat to 120 jobs"

The soft fruit farm employing them is on a 123-acre site earmarked for major redevelopment in a far-reaching blueprint for the north Littlehampton area.

It would see the farm, run by Hall Hunter Partnership, replaced by the 1,500 homes, together with shops, community facilities and business units. The partnership leases the land from Irish food giant Greencore, one of the key players in the regeneration scheme.

Harry Hall, a partner in the family business Hall Hunter, said he wanted residents to know the full story before making up their minds on the proposals.

"The greenhouses are not empty. I just want to be part of the debate, and to make sure that the people of Littlehampton are fully informed of the facts before they make any decisions.

"Vision, not a plan"

"We employ 120 people, from managers to office workers to pickers. It's top-to-bottom employment. If we were forced to move, in today's economic climate I doubt we would be able to afford to buy land, let alone build new greenhouses."

Harry voiced his concerns at a public meeting at All Saints' Church, Wick, last Wednesday (September 17), hosted by John Thompson and Partners, a firm of architects and urban planners hired by Greencore to work with the community on the plans.

John Thompson partner Charles Campion told the meeting: "We are at a very early stage, what we have created is a vision, not a plan.

"Any development would be mixed-use, and would, therefore, bring many, many jobs into the town."

Speaking after the meeting, Harry agreed that building 1,500 homes would create employment, but questioned for how long.

"A lot of the jobs being talked about will be in construction, it is not a long-term solution."

Arun district councillor for Ham ward Tony Squires, who also addressed the meeting, said this week that the vision represented an exciting time for the town, and that people should get behind it. He admitted, however, there were difficulties in predicting how many jobs could be created.

Empty factories

"Mr Hall knew he was not going to be on the land forever when he signed the lease. Arun needs to build new homes, and here is a site to do that.

"However, commercial units at Lineside Industrial Estate have been built, but are still empty; and factories which were supposed to be constructed alongside the Eden Park development were never built, because no one wanted them."

Eoin Tonge, a spokesman for Greencore, said that any job losses would be out-numbered by the gains.

"Greencore is conscious of employment in the Littlehampton area, and any development would very much be employment-led. If it were to go ahead, it would create a large number of jobs."

He added that it was "a very exciting time" for Littlehampton.

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