Longer journeys

THE EXHIBITION last week of the proposals relating to the application for outline planning permission for the development known as North Littlehampton was well attended by local people, many of whom expressed their serious objection to the scheme.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Mar 2011, 10:30 BST

The confined space in All Saints Church, in Wick, made it difficult to get near the few exhibits and it was not easy to identify and consult the developers’ representatives.

One of my major concerns is the proposal to close Toddington Lane level crossing, apparently at the instigation of the railway authorities, in exchange for their permission to build the Lyminster by-pass road bridge over the line, a quarter of a mile to the west.

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When the Rustington by-pass was opened some residents up to a third of a mile away received many hundreds of pounds in compensation for the extra noise caused by the traffic on the new road. I wonder whether a similar payment will be made to the owners of many houses in Toddington and east of Lyminster Road.

The effects of the closure of the level crossing would be to isolate about 500 homes between the railway and Worthing Road from any straightforward route to the west or north. To reach our parish church at Lyminster or the amenity tip in Mill Lane would entail driving south to Worthing Road and then east to the cemetery roundabout, back again westwards along Worthing Road to Wick and then northwards up Lyminster Road and across the infamous Lyminster level crossing. A similar set of circumstances would apply to any attempt by local people to reach the A27 or Arundel.

Does the extra cost and inconvenience to existing residents mean nothing to the perpetrators of such a crazy scheme?

How much reliance can we expect on the Government’s intention to involve ordinary people in the decision on new development in their immediate neighbourhood?

WF Daggett,

Barn Close, Littlehampton

Related topics:RustingtonGovernment