Fresh concern over village homes plan

The controversial plan to demolish four cottages on land surrounding the historic Homes of Rest at Graffham looks set to cause more concern in the village.
The green in front of the homes taken during the storm of protest over the plans three years agoThe green in front of the homes taken during the storm of protest over the plans three years ago
The green in front of the homes taken during the storm of protest over the plans three years ago

Planning permission was granted to Reside Developments Ltd in 2015 to demolish the four semi detached houses and build five new homes, together with a new access.

A temporary access over the green in front of the homes was agreed during construction.

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But now the developers want to amend the timescale for building the permanent main access.

Planning consultant Boyer told Chichester District Council planners ,on behalf of Reside, the current wording of the condition governing the main access required it to be built before the start of the development.

The developer wanted to amend this so it could be completed either before any of the homes were occupied or before the completion of plots 3 and 4, whichever came sooner.

The current wording required the new access to be completed before the temporary access for construction work, said consultants, which posed ‘practical difficulties with regard to the delivery and storage of plant, machinery and material’.

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They added: “There is also a practical need to allow continued access to properties dependent on the existing access during the construction phase. The strict requirements of the conditions which required the construction of the revised permanent access as the first operation would in practice leave residents landlocked for a period of time.”

But neighbours Richard and Alison Davidson objected saying there was no logic for ‘disfiguring’ the green for much longer than necessary: “There is no reason why work on the vehicle access should not be carried on and completed soon after the first use of the temporary access so that the latter can be removed at the earliest feasible opportunity.”