Call for support in battle to stop Ford's eco-town plan

Arun District Council chief executive Ian Sumnall was to use last night's meeting of the full council to express total opposition to the radical proposals.

He was to ask councillors to back his call for the district's three MPs to support the council and seek a meeting with the relevant government minister, Hazel Blears.

He also wants to organise all the parish and town councils most immediately affected so they can show their support for Arun's position.

Mr Sumnall is additionally seeking the backing of the county council and other councils in West Sussex.

Two rival sets of plans have been put forward to the government to chose Ford as one of the sites of its eco-town settlements.

The government envisages the towns of between 5,000 and 20,000 homes achieving zero carbon development and sustainable living through new design and architecture.

But Mr Sumnall told councillors in a report the district council has to battle against the schemes to ensure the government is aware of the level of opposition to them.

Mr Sumnall warned that, if Ford is chosen for an eco-town site, it will add at least 5,000 properties to the 11,600 which the district could already have to accommodate by 2026.

This figure was already swollen by 2,000 homes, which have yet to be confirmed, following a surprise announcement last summer.

He accused the government of using eco-towns simply as a means to add more housing to an area without having to follow the usual planning processes.

'I do not believe the seriousness of such development being allocated in such an arbitary and unplanned fashion can be over-exaggerated,' states Mr Sumnall.

'The danger is that Arun could be the victim of this one-dimensional government approach.

'The council needs to oppose the proposal for an eco-town at Ford as vigorously as possible.

'The council has always, through its detailed technical work, seen Ford as a poor strategic location unrelated to the existing urban areas of Littlehampton and Bognor Regis which continue to need significant investment to continue with the necessary regeneration.'

Mr Sumnall describes as false the eco-town promoters' comments that the much-needed A27 Arundel bypass would be funded by the housing.

The road was not programmed to be built until after 2016, whereas the eco-town was expected to be finished by 2020. The road's current cost is estimated at more than 120m.

Contributions from a development of 5,000 homes will never meet this cost, he explains.

A major planning inquiry five years ago accepted part of the eco-town site was placed by the Environment Agency as being in the flood plain.

Developing the site would seriously erode the village's current rural setting, poor bus links would lead to an increase in car journeys and the development would encourage more building in the visually important Arun Valley.