Glasshouse plan raises lorry concerns

Nearby residents fear the procession of heavy goods vehicles will create traffic chaos in the rural area.

Brinkmans Nurseries has applied to Arun District Council for planning approval for a commercial plant nursery with a new vehicle access and alterations to the alignment of Lower Bognor Road.

The combined glasshouse area totals 12.42 hectares. This is 10 per cent larger than the site of the proposed Asda store and Oldlands Farm Business Park at Shripney.

It is also four times the combined size of the Regis Centre and Hothamton sites in central Bognor Regis.

The company says a maximum of four deliveries or collections an hour will be made to the glasshouses during the daytime period.

An earlier delivery will take place between 6am and 7pm.

Nearby resident Linda Gavigan said: "The roads in this area are not suitable for HGVs.

"Lower Bognor Road's junction with Pagham Road at the Royal Oak is a nightmare anyway.

"It will be a disaster waiting to happen if you have HGVs turning off Pagham Road there.

"Lower Bognor Road is really winding. It could cause all sorts of problems if you are going along in the opposite direction to one of these big lorries.

"There will also be a knock-on effect for villages such as Runcton and around Vinnetrow Road where these lorries could well be travelling along.

"They are already suffering from all the lorries going to Barfoots of Botley at Sefter Farm in Pagham.

"They can't cope with all the lorries they have now."

Mrs Gavigan, of the 18th century Lagnersh House, said she and her 17 neighbours in Lagness also feared that the glasshouses could act as a precedent for further development if they were approved.

"This development is not horticultural, it's industrial," she claimed, "because of the size of it."

The planning documents submitted by Brinkmans Nurseries as part of its application says a new access road would be created across farmland south of the development site from Lower Bognor Road to the yard and car park.

"This new route would divert farm traffic within the farmland from an existing access road that is located in close proximity to Morrells Cottage, Park House and Park Farm Cottages to a new access road located away from the above residential properties among arable fields.

"Where the new route meets the existing Lower Bognor Road, the Lower Bognor Road would be straightened.

"The original road surface would then be broken up so that the land use would revert to agriculture surrounded by restored and replanted hedgerows," the company states.

The application concerns the creation of a plant nursery on almost half the 26.8ha farm site.

This will consist of a large glasshouse of 11.07ha, including a packhouse area and loading bay, and another of 1.35ha.

A separate office, parking and car parking areas will be among the development to the south of the proposed structures.

The glasshouses would be used to expand Brinkmans Nurseries' business of supplying nursery stock and finished plants such as cordylines, fruit and ornamental trees to supermarkets, garden centres and DIY stores.

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

Between 20 and 60 staff will work in the glasshouses during the daytime. This will depend on the season.

Any night time working will see 10-30 staff mainly packing.