New housing estate in North Bersted causes concern

Persimmon Homes has perplexed people with its choice of Hotham Park as the title for the 216-home estate it is set to build off Chichester Road.

The name is emblazoned on a large publicity board which was recently put up alongside the A259.

Linda Humphrey, the field sales manager for Persimmon Homes South Coast, said: "We are committed to developing homes that are sympathetic to the surrounding environment and are in keeping with the history of the local area, which is what we believe we have achieved at Hotham Park.

"However, due to a number of concerns raised regarding the name of the development we will be looking into the matter."

She explained the name was chosen following a development naming competition run in conjunction with South Bersted Primary School.

It commemorates the modern town's founder, Sir Richard Hotham, whose house garden has become the modern Hotham Park.

But there are worries the name, even if it is just used for marketing purposes, could cause confusion with the real Hotham Park.

This is about three miles to the south and bears no relation to the farmland which Persimmon has been given permission to develop.

Among those to have raised concerns with Persimmon Homes is Arun District Council's chief executive, Ian Sumnall. He has spoken to the company to ask if it could use an alternative to Hotham Park because of the risk of confusion.

A council spokeswoman said a developer was free to use any name it liked for marketing purposes for a scheme. Road names, however, were subject to approval from the council to avoid duplication and inappropriate titles.

Town and district councillor Sandra Daniells has spoken to Mr Sumnall to pass on town councillors' fears the presence of Hotham Park could cause confusion.

Hotham Park Heritage Trust chairman Rosemary Warren is also raising the matter with Persimmon Homes. She said: "I will be writing to Persimmon Homes on behalf of the trust to ask them what their intentions were in naming the development Hotham Park and asking them to change it.

"The development's name would appear to me to be misleading."

What do you think? Send a letter to [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click here to add yourself to our readers' map.