Major homes plans in Angmering and Barnham set to face opposition

PLANS for hundreds of homes in Angmering and about 2,000 in Barnham and villages to the west are being challenged by a group of councillors.

Jean Goad, former chairman of Arun’s development control committee and fellow Barnham councillors John Charles and Dougal Maconachie, together with Roger Nash and Adam Cunard, from Bognor, have called in two decisions by the council cabinet member for planning, Ricky Bower.

It means that Mr Bower’s decision to order a “visioning study” to be prepared “for the broad location of development at Barnham, Eastergate and Westergate, and at Angmering”, and his commissioning of a study into possible bypass routes for the A29 road around the western villages, will now be examined by a special scrutiny meeting early next month.

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Mrs Goad, who is also a former chairman of the district council, said the group of five councillors were concerned that Mr Bower had made his decisions just five days before the consultation period on Arun’s draft local plan ended.

“What is the point of going out to consultation with a half-baked plan?” asked Mrs Goad. “People have worked very hard to respond to it, but now these decisions are changing it again.

“The five of us feel very strongly that this needs a proper chewing over.”

Karl Roberts, Arun’s assistant director for planning and economic development, said: “For many years it’s been an integral part of local government decision-making that there is the ability for councillors to call in decisions for further scrutiny.

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“In this particular case, members will have the opportunity to form a view as to whether this work is necessary as part of developing the local plan.”

Concerns

The challenge to the local plan decisions comes just days after Angmering villagers voiced major concerns over plans for 150 homes in Roundstone Lane.

A special meeting of the parish council was attended by about 100 people at the Angmering Community Centre.

Villagers called on the parish council to “come off the fence” and declare its opposition to the proposals by Barratt/David Wilson Homes.

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But parish council chairman Steve Mountain and clerk Rob Martin insisted that the council would not reach a final decision on the plans until it had thoroughly examined them and produced a detailed response.

Geoff Hughes, of Chantryfield Road, said he had concerns about the possible impact of flooding from the proposed development, following serious incidents this summer and on two previous occasions in the past decade.

Sue Ware, co-chairman of the Save Angmering Village group, said people couldn’t understand why the parish council had not come out against the plans.

“All the people want is for you to agree that you are against it, and you have to draw up a document to support that.”

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Mr Mountain told the meeting: “I hope that there has been enough information here tonight to show you that we are carrying the banner for the people of Angmering, the whole parish, and that we will put something together that, I believe, you won’t be disappointed by.”

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