We have no say

It seems that Arun District Council’s development control committee does not honour the ‘localism’ principle supposed to allow communities to control their own environment.

After all, they have much more interest and intimate knowledge of their neighbourhood than do more distant councillors.

There is a deep difference of opinion between Littlehampton Town and Arun District councils over the application to build 63 homes at Holly Acre Farm, north of the railway at Toddington.

The town council has categorically objected on the ground that the lane is too narrow for the proposed alterations and, in particular, that the safety of pedestrians would be at risk.

The planners have ignored these serious objections, perhaps because the development control committee has only two Littlehampton members out of a total of 15!

We have not seen any justification for the Government’s much-publicised figure for housing demands, which have been accepted by most local authorities and, of course, by developers!

Are they simple guesses, or is there some logic behind them?

W. F. Daggett

Barn Close

Littlehampton