700-home estate in Felpham may take 12 years to build

Barratt Homes Southampton and its subsidiary, David Wilson Homes, intend to build just one property a week at the 700-dwelling scheme.

The news means the long-anticipated Bognor Regis northern relief road '“ which has to be constructed as a condition of the homes being built '“ may not be completed until several years' time. The latest estimate is a completion date five years away.

This is seen as an essential part of the town's regeneration proposals by taking traffic away from the congested town centre.

Julian Jones, the technical director of BDW Homes Southampton, said the company was seeking to renegotiate the strict timetable by which the road had to be built according to the number of homes completed.

"It will cost 16m to build the road and we would like to do it in more bite-size portions because of the current market conditions," he said.

Building work was likely to start next January and February, he said. But a possible start could take place soon on the temporary access to the site to enable lorries and workmen to reach it.

This showed there was no doubting the companies' commitment to the project. Clearance work of the site was ongoing, he said.

If the latest anticipated completion date remains, it will see the proposals take a staggering 21 years from the time they were first mentioned by Arun District Council as its response to the government's demand for more housing.

The latest delay in a series of setbacks has been blamed on the current dire national housing market.

Cllr Dennis Peerman, the chairman of Felpham Parish Council's site six committee, said: "This creates a bit more uncertainty about the scheme. It means it will be hanging around for quite a while.

"Barratt and David Wilson Homes did originally intend to build one home a week each on the development. They are now going to build a home a week between them."

The housing is due to be built on 133 acres of farmland between Hoe Lane and the Roundle Estate. The site was sold by a consortium of landowners to the development companies in spring 2007 for more than 33m.

The completed development will also comprise up to three shops, a community hall and a five-a-side football pitch as well as having the potential for a new school.

Details of the development of 464 of the homes were approved by Arun two months ago. The agreement concerned issues such as the design of the housing, drainage, street lighting, landscaping and the location of play areas. The council placed 39 conditions, as well as 34 advisory issues, on its approval.

Barratt withdrew an application for another 121 homes on the land last May until the financial situation had improved.

It is also soon expected to vary its approved scheme to replace some of the flats it originally wanted to build with houses with gardens.

This is to make the properties more attractive for registered social landlords, or housing associations, as part of the need to have 210 affordable homes in the completed development. The new application will be submitted to Arun within the next two weeks.

Felpham Parish Council chairman Cllr Paul English said it was a shame the relief road was still some years away.

He said: "The situation will see the developers build some houses and then build a bit of road. That's a fact of life now. It's not going to change no matter what we do and say about it."

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