Housing bid for Barnham refused

Members of Arun District Council’s development and control committee voted against Welbeck Strategic Land’s re-submitted planning application for the development of 44 dwellings at their meeting last week.

The company sought outline permission to build the properties on some 3.10ha of land north of Yapton Road and east of Garden Crescent 14 of which would have been affordable homes.

The new estate would have been a mix of two, three and four bed homes, with 108 off road car parking spaces.

Barnham parish councillor Gerry Reeves, spoke out strongly against the application during the meeting.

He said: “Barnham is a village community made up of 554 dwellings. Planning permission for 178 home has already been given, this application wants 44 and another 107 that is a total of 329 more houses in the village, a 60 per cent increase.

“During a survey carried out as part of the parish council’s work with Eastergate on our neighbourhood plan we discovered their is not a need for housing of this scale in Barnham.”

Cllr Reeves also asked councillors not to agree the application just because of it affordable home merits.

Committe member John Charles (Con, Barnham) said he did not see any differences between this application and the one refused by councillors on June 27.

“I still don’t see any differences or improvements. Nothing has changed, to my mind it is the same application and I cannot support it,” he said.

Fellow councillor Jean Goad (Con, Barnham) agreed.

“I endorse what Cllr Charles has said. I cannot see any differences or new merits to this application. For all intents and purposes it is the same application we had before us last time,” she said.

The application was recommended for approval by planning officers but with eight votes against it, two for it and three abstentions permission was refused.