Eco-town plan bypass outrage

Arun council had declared the airfield as unsuitable for development in August last year.

Councillors told the full council meeting last week that the promoters of the scheme, the Ford Enterprise Hub, had taken the proposal outside the planning process.

They had made use of an invitation from the Government to come forward with eco-town proposals last autumn after the Government saw that such schemes could contribute up to 100,000 homes by 2020 to its overall requirement of three million homes.

The result was that two schemes had been submitted for the Ford area, one by Barton Willmore and one by Hall, Dixon and Penfold.

More than 50 submissions nationwide were currently being considered and an announcement is expected this month or next.

At the meeting, Cllr Ricky Bower said: "It's the misuse of the planning system which I am furious about.

"It's an attempt to buck the democratic system."

For full story see West Sussex Gazette January 16