LETTER: Developments about pounds

Last week, Herald reader Sean Ridley, who said he was born in Shoreham and had lived locally for 50 years, wanted to know exactly who are the people who seem intent on wrecking Shoreham, changing it out all of recognition in recent years.

He said the London commuter set gobbled up all the previously reasonably priced property, which sent the property market haywire, and that the incomers were closely followed by the property developers who, he believes, are profiting at the expense of the residents and the character of Shoreham.

The council, Sean said, needs to stand up and protect the local community from what he calls greedy property speculators and blames the Adur planning committee for what he says are shockingly bad decisions.

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Actually, the planning committee will totally disagree with Sean, because the future of Shoreham and the rest of our county is not about people, or property prices, or commuters, or developers; it’s all about council pounds.

Sky-high housing prices? Town centres choked with traffic? New developments appearing all over the place?

These things clearly, and quite rightly, bother Sean but the truth is that they simply get glossed over by planning committees, who get totally blinded by the enormous amounts of money that flow in council coffers from each new development that they approve.

They get this through business rates, council tax and New Homes Bonus payments. A prime example of this is the proposed Ikea development in Lancing.

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The council knows, as well as most sensible thinking people, that this will result in massive traffic problems on the A27, but what is that, it will say, compared with the £2.7 million pounds that it expects to rake in every year?

Sorry, Sean, the truth of the matter is that it’s all about pounds and not people and, no matter how many letters you and I write, nothing will ever change that.

Eric Waters

Ingleside Crescent, Lancing

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