No to Eco-Town, yes to housing

It would seem that Derek Waller, a leading member of CAFE, is ignoring the good relations that have been built up with Villages Action Group in recent months and the agreement of the various villages' representatives, including CAFE and VAG, that any housing development in the western inland area should be spread evenly around, rather than concentrating it in any one place, as proposed in options two and three of Arun District Council's Options for Growth.

It is strange that Mr Waller should be attacking VAG over its actions during the time of the West Sussex Structure Plan. In July, 2002, a leading citizen of Arundel made an individual submission to the WSCC

Structure Plan examination in public, in which he opened with the following paragraph: "I have no overall objection to the building of homes in the strategic location east of Chichester district/west of

Arun district, especially on the essentially brownfield sites of the now disused Tangmere and Ford airfields." (my italics)

The name of this citizen '“ Derek Waller. Clearly at that time he thought any reference to the strategic location was specifically directed at Ford, not Westergate, and he agreed with the later view of VAG on the matter, namely that Ford Airfield, as opposed to the larger Eco-Town site, is essentially brownfield and thus should be utilised before condemning any more greenfield land in Arun district.

It is possible to be against the Eco-Town and yet still regard the actual airfield site as a suitable location for housing.

Back in 2007, when the original draft preferred options for growth approved by Arun's local development framework committee indicated that Bersted parish would once again be the focus for housing, it was reported in the press that the initial reaction of their residents was "Why not Ford?". Clearly they felt that the brownfield area at Ford Airfield should be utilised before sacrificing their own green fields.

VAG attended every day of the Arun select committee in May/June, 2008, into the merits of the Eco-Town scheme and actively contributed to the debate, including defending the greenfield credentials of the majority of the Eco-Town site. That does not take away from the fact that the majority of the area of the actual airfield is brownfield.

It seems this is a distinction that Mr Waller is now all too willing to overlook in his determination to prevent any development from taking place.

Perhaps he would like to explain to the residents of Aldingbourne, Angmering, Bersted, Barnham, Eastergate and Westergate why their green fields should be submerged in concrete while an old airfield surrounded by housing and industrial estates should be left untouched?

Jane Felstead

Villages Action Group

Level Mare Lane

Eastergate

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