Farm's glasshouses plan 'will double HGV traffic'

A 12-hour survey of traffic on Lower Bognor Road last Fridayrevealed 15 articulated lorries among the 5,478 vehicles which passed Lagnersh House.

The proposal by Brinkmans Nurseries to increase the use of Park Farm with a commercial plant nursery will see an extra 28 HGV movements a day there in the peak season. Off-peak movements would amount to 13. These are only small increases on the level of transport required for a Bosham farm where many of the crops are currently grown.

But Lower Bognor Road resident Linda Gavigan said this comparision was misleading.

Locating the proposed glasshouses at Park Farm to enable the amount of crops to be expanded 'would represent a very significant and detrimental increase on the Lower Bognor Road'.

"It is absured to compare this narrow, winding road to the existing routes used at the other operation.

"It also does not take into account the impact this increase would have on residential roads such as Chalcraft Lane," she stated.

"Current levels of articulated HGV movement are such that they rarely have to pass each other. The proposed increase would make this much more likely to occur.

"There are several stretches of road where this is only possible if both lorries slow to a crawl in order to pass."

She claimed the presence of more large lorries on Lower Bognor Road would add to the safety hazards of a route on which two serious accidents had occurred in the past two months. One of these, at the existing entrance to Park Farm, had involved all the emergency services and the air ambulance. The lack of a pavement or wide verges meant that any pedestrians who had to walk in the road would worsen highway dangers, she added.

Mrs Gavigan's comments came after a safety audit in relation to the planning application for the new glasshouses was published.

The audit by John Reid, a technical director at Meyer Brown, said the predicted extra traffic at Park Farm compared with the existing Bosham location was not considered to be a material increase. It was 'unlikely to give rise to any significant impact on the adjacent highway network', he stated.

"In addition to the HGV movements, the existing site presently attracts up to 30 staff on any one day. It is not anticipated that this level of staff would change under the development proposals."

Hauliers would be advised to arrive and depart from the south-east, he added.

The application for Park Farm was submitted last February to Arun District Council for a decision. It involves creating an 11.07hectare glasshouse, including a packhouse area and loading bay, and another of 1.35ha.

The glasshouses would be used to grow more nursery stock and finished plants such as cordylines, fruit and ornamental trees to supermarkets, garden centres and DIY stores. Four main customers will be supplied.

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Up to 30 staff will continue to work on the farm.

The site has been chosen because of its high light levels, favourable soil, relatively-flat terrain and availability of workers.

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