Parishes unite in rare show of strength

A rare show of unity between Aldingbourne, Barnham, Climping, Eastergate, Ford and Yapton councils has seen them urge that any development should be spread among their settlements.

They have issued a joint plea to Arun District Council to avoid singling out any one village to take the burden of hundreds of new homes.

They want about 100 dwellings in each of their areas to be built by 2026.

Arun's intention in its three options has been to place the major developments of several thousand in selected sites such as Littlehampton, Angmering, North Bersted, and Westergate, Barnham and Eastergate.

But that still leaves scope for up to 900 dwellings to be put into rural areas.

The joint statement says: "These should be built on a strict 'pro rata' basis throughout all the villages, where this is practical.

"This would be a much fairer way of sharing the burden of assimilating large numbers of new families into the local community."

The councils say they reached this decision because of concerns about the lack of jobs and infrastructure, the risk of flooding, the need to provide essential services, such as sewer treatment, and school and medical facilities.

If this is reflected in Arun's final decision, they will support the option for most of the housing to be built in North Bersted and Littlehampton.

But, they say it is not practical nor realistic to take the view of most residents and oppose any sizeable new housing scheme for the villages.

'We'll tackle the traffic problem' '“ landowners

We will tackle the traffic, a spokesman for one of the landowners of a planned new estate in North Bersted has assured residents.

Steve Melligan, of the Church Commissioners, said: "We are well aware of the existing traffic problems. This scheme has to help resolve these if it's going to have a positive outcome.

"There is lots of work still to be done. We are working with the county council highways officers, the Highways Agency and Arun District Council to find solutions."

James Garland, from the commissioners' PR company, said the potential highways problems which could arise from the 2,500 home scheme were the number one priority raised by visitors to the two latest exhibitions.

"The traffic implications are something we have got to look at and find a way of working around," he said.

The initial thoughts include completing the Bognor relief road, currently stalled with the rest of the site six housing scheme, to the A259 and to reduce traffic along Chalcraft Lane.

A fast and frequent bus service will also be launched between the new quarter and the town centre to try to reduce the amount of traffic generated by the housing.

Some 300 people visited the display at the Jubilee Community Centre in North Bersted and the Regis Centre in Bognor Regis.

The attendance was evenly split between both days. The second most common issue they raised related to flooding.

Mr Garland said: "We are confident that with a sustainable urban drainage system to create balancing ponds, which will become habitats for wildlife, we can work with the water rather than against it."

The latest plans for what has been called 'Bognor's eco quarter' contain space for up to one job for each household, community facilities and more than 40 per cent of the area north west of Chalcraft Lane given over to open space.

Changes since the original scheme went on show last summer had given more emphasis to environmental matters, said Mr Garland.

A further exhibition will follow before an outline planning application to establish the principle of the development '“ with 2,000 homes in its first phase '“ on the current farmland will be sent in during the summer.

This timetable puts the proposals in parallel with Arun's process to create a local development framework for land use up to 2026.

Public consultation has ended. Councillors will decide in the coming months which sites should be earmarked for development. This decision will be tested at a public examination, probably next year. Mr Melligan said: "It will take many months for Arun to determine our application.

"It will be up to the council to decide if it wants to approve our application before the examination in public."

But he said the commissioners wanted to get the preparatory work started well in advance of the next upturn in the housing market.

Scheme gives no thought to residents

One visitor to the exhibition summed up the proposals with the word rubbish.

Robert Templery said: "The scheme has given no thought for the people who live here already.

"It took us half an hour early the other day just to get on to the Chichester Road to go to St Richard's Hospital.

"If you are going to put a large number of cars on there, the system just can't work."

He and his wife are about to move from Pinehurst Park in Aldwick to Pagham for reasons unrelated to the development, but he said people from further afield would be equally affected by the clogged roads.

Mr Templery, 67, added: "There is a shortage of farmland in the world and yet they want to build on more of it.

"You can't be pinching farmland. I don't know how we are going to feed ourselves in the future."

Bognor resident Donald Osborne, 77, of Richmond Avenue, said: "We have got to have the new relief road before we have any more housing.

"If you come from Chichester to Bognor from 4pm, the road is packed with vehicles.

"It will be the wrong way round to add to them by building more houses.

"I don't mind where they build the houses, they have got to go somewhere, but the road must come first."

More than 3,000 respond in housing debate

More than 3,000 responses have been made to the big debate about where housing should be built around Bognor Regis.

The bumper postbag was received by Arun District Council in response to its consultation into choices for development sites.

The seven-week consultation has ended.

About 1,000 letters were received, along with 250 on-line questionnaires, 448 paper surveys and 988 responses through the council's residents' panel.

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