Conservation status for Craigweil estate - 'a total waste of money'

Grahame Burrows said the proposals for the Craigweil area were a waste of money.

"At a time of great economic difficulty, when most of the population are struggling to pay council tax bills, Arun District Council are wasting taxpayers' money on this totally misguided and unnecessary exercise.

"The area in question is already protected as an area of special character and the mature trees are already protected by a tree preservation order.

"The council now seeks to further protect the area at the expense of all the ratepayers in Arun," he said.

"The vast majority of them do not even have access to a large part of the proposed area as it is a 'private' estate which they cannot access."

Mr Burrows has made his comments as Arun considers the responses to a public consultation into the conservation area proposals.

This has included a meeting held in Aldwick for interested residents as well as the chance to comment through the council's website by December 12.

The decision to consider the new status was made by senior councillors in Arun's cabinet last August.

It was based on an approach by Craigweil and its Environs Conservation Area Association and followed advice by English Heritage.

Experts at the conservation watchdog say some parts of the estate, based around The Drive, are worthy of being granted the recognition.

Craigweil sprang to prominence in 1929 when King George V stayed at Craigweil House with Queen Mary to recover from a bout of bad health.

The house has long been demolished but a tree planted by the queen survives and road names such as Kingsway and Queensway continue the regal heritage.

But property developer Mr Burrows, who has lived on the estate for more than 40 years, said Arun wanted to extend the conservation area far more than English Heritage suggested.

A district council spokeswoman said: "We have been consulting with residents about the possibility of making Craigwell a conservation area, which gives everyone the opportunity to have their say on the proposals.

"We will consider all comments we receive during the consultation, the results of which will be made available in the new year. The decision on whether or not to designate the estate a conservation area will be based on the advice and evidence we have available to us."

She made no comment about the cost of the proposals.

What do you think? Click here to send a letter or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.

MAP