Consultation on new West Sussex secondary school plan takes place this week – and it includes high-quality sports and leisure facilities which the community could use

The event, on Wednesday, April 2, is being held at Arun Sports Arena, at Ford Airfield, from 3pm to 7pm, for the land south of Ford Lane.

According to the developers, the event will provide an opportunity to read and learn more about the proposals, as well as to ask project team representatives questions and to share feedback. An online survey is also being launched on 2 April on the project website at www.landsouthof-fordlane.co.uk where an overview of the proposals can also be read. The consultation runs until April 25.

The proposals include:

• A 10-form entry secondary school

• Country park

• Up to 400 homes

• 30% affordable homes

• New cycle / footpaths

• A community space – ideas welcome

The developer of this scheme is landowner Sam Langmead who said: “Due to the established need for secondary schooling in this area, local policy supports the delivery of a new secondary school within the district of Arun.”

The site is about 34.7ha and predominantly is agricultural land currently used for pasture and silage. It is bounded by Yapton to the south west and by Ford Lane to the north, with further agricultural land to the north east.

On the Land South of Ford Lane website, it adds: “Central to our proposals is a 10-form entry secondary school which would serve the local area’s existing community as well as the growth in population, including the permitted new homes on The Landings. The school would be set in soft landscaping with a mix of ornamental and natural planting.

“There have been a number of pre-application meetings and liaison with officers at Arun District Council and West Sussex County Council to arrive at the current masterplan. The need for a secondary school is denoted under Arun Local Plan Policy INF SP2.

“The principal vehicular access would be off Ford Lane, with new cycleways and pedestrian links through the development and secure bike storage to promote safe active travel routes.

“The school plans include new high-quality sports and leisure facilities, with a sports hall and a variety of pitches including a Multi-use games area (MUGA). These facilities would be shared with the wider community, promoting health and wellbeing for everyone. The school would be segregated from the sports and leisure facilities to enable wider public access outside school hours.”

As for the housing proposals, the plan said: “The development has been designed to be landscape-led and will include up to 400 high quality new homes, with 30% being affordable housing, all designed to be energy efficient, conserve water and reduce carbon. Their design will respect the local vernacular and materials and also promote the principles within the Arun Design Guide. The affordable homes will be indistinguishable and distributed across the housing area.

“The existing mature trees and hedgerows will be complemented with new landscaping which help bed in and establish the new homes into the community. A variety of sizes of homes will be delivered, with the exact mix yet to be determined. There will be some terraced housing, mews courts, as well as detached and semi-detached homes to cater for individual occupancy and family homes.”

In March last year, it was revealed Abri – one of the south’s largest housing providers – and Vistry Group – the UK’s leading mixed-tenure developer – had entered into a 50/50 joint venture to acquire the land to the east of the Land south of Ford Lane project. That development is known as The Landings.