Job would be put at risk by north Littlehampton development

A local employer leases the greenhouses to grow strawberries, raspberries, etc. and so, development at this location would almost certainly lead to the closure of the business located there and the loss of around 120 jobs (Gazette, September, 2008).

On August 27, 2008, Arun councillors voted that "retention of existing viable employment sites is considered vital in regenerating Arun's coastal towns, as well as in rural areas" – but did they mean it?

Tony Burton, project director for the Greencore Group, (Gazette letters, January 14) talks about infrastructure but fails to comment on how his proposals will impact on local employment.

The Eco-Town proposals were for 4,000 jobs and sought to utilise the Eco-Town brand to attract higher quality and better-paid employment to the district. These proposals met vigorous opposition from Arun leader councillor Gillian Brown's "council-led community campaign" (source: Arun press release April 3, 2008) and ultimately locations with local authority support were selected.

Arun District Council, with an increase of 266 per cent in the last five years, has the fastest-growing local authority housing register in the whole of the south east region (source: National Housing Federation Home Truths 2009 report), and so it is clear that housing is desperately needed, but new development can only be sustainable if jobs are created. Would Mr Burton care to tell us how many existing jobs will be lost, how many new jobs will be created, and by what means new employers will be attracted to the district?

Finally, a sobering thought – if the urban extensions of the last 60 years have been such a success then why does Arun have the worst local economy in West Sussex?

Tony Dixon

Barons Close, Westergate

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