Goring Gap housing: Schoolchildren join protest - 'I am unsure of my future'

Community groups came out in force on Friday (March 25) to protest against the green gap housing plan at Chatsmore Farm in Goring-by-Sea.

Residents joined Worthing West MP Sir Peter Bottomley, Worthing borough councillors and St Oscar Romero Catholic School pupils in a 'united front' to voice their anger at the scheme at the Goring gap.

St Oscar Romero Catholic School pupil Chloe Peskett, 15, gave a powerful speech at the protest, 'begging' the developer, Persimmon, not to build the houses.

She said her school is less than 100 meters from where the homes have been proposed.

"I am unsure of my future," she said. "By my 23rd birthday climate change will be irreversible.

"We have until 2030 to save the planet but according to some people, profit is more important.

"As a child, I should not be here telling you, an adult, why what you are doing is wrong. But this isn’t about you and me.

"This is about everyone here, everyone in our county, everyone in Great Britain, this is about all young people around the world.

"Take a look around you. Breathe in the air, look upon the trees. All of this could be gone and replaced with mundane houses. The environmental impact these houses would have is unthinkable."

Last year, councillors rejected a planning application by the developer to allow 475 homes to be built on the green gap between Ferring and Goring.

Despite a government-appointed planning inspector 'clearly indicating' Worthing Borough Council was 'right to protect the space from development' in its Local Plan for the area, a different inspector last month overturned the decision on appeal and said the homes could be built.

The council is now taking the case to the High Court, while Mr Bottomley and council leader Kevin Jenkins have both urged the government to block the development.

Mr Jenkins, who joined the community at Chatsmore Farm, said: “It’s great to see so many people here today. We’re here because we have a passion for Worthing.

“We could build on every green space in our town and still not meet the need for housing. We have to build wisely, using our brownfield sites in the town centre first.

“Worthing only has 3.9 square metres of green space for every adult in this borough — the lowest amount for any urban area anywhere in the UK. That’s why it’s so important to protect this space.”

Mr Bottomley said the 'battle will continue', adding "This gathering shows the strength of feeling of all age groups, from all parts of our district and borough. We will carry on.

“This is a non-stop campaign where we are right and the inspector was wrong.”

In her impassioned speech, 15-year-old Chloe also urged people to think about the wildlife 'that would lose their homes'.

She added: "Think about all of the oxygen that will no longer be let into the atmosphere. Think about the tonnes and tonnes of carbon dioxide that will be emitted by all of the lorries, diggers, machines and the houses once they are complete.

"In the local area there are already several building projects similar to ones you propose. Traffic is already a complete and utter nightmare, think about hundreds of more cars adding to that chaos. They would only be adding to our CO2 output.

"We need to prioritise building on brown spaces. Off the top of my head I can name at least three. If I can think of that many on the spot then think about how many the government could find with all the resources they have.

"Do you really want to live in a world where we prioritise making money over the future of the next generation? Listen to the people. We are here asking you, begging you not to build these houses.

"Do it for me, do it for them, do it for us. Do it for the future."

The Worthing West Constituency Labour Party is running a seperate protest at Chatsmore Farm today (Saturday, March 26).

Click here to view the Planning Inspectorate decision, using the last seven digits of the following appeal number APP/M3835/W/21/3281813.

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