South Downs housing and allotment proposals condemned as ‘a sick joke’

Residents are pouring scorn on plans to build 78 new homes on an allotment site in a South Downs village.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Housing Association A2 Dominion is currently seeking planning approval to build the homes on allotments west of Ravenscroft in Storrington.

It is also seeking permission to relocate the current allotments to a new site in an adjoining field within the South Downs National Park.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But angry objectors have poured scorn on the proposals with one describing it as a ‘sick joke.’

The proposed development site in StorringtonThe proposed development site in Storrington
The proposed development site in Storrington

Approval for the scheme is needed from both Horsham District Council and the South Downs National Park Authority.

The housing association says the houses would be a mix of one and two-bedroom flats, and two, three and four-bed houses.

The new allotment site, it says, would be bigger than the existing plot and that a dedicated wildlife area and country park would also be created in the fields around the allotments.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But a number of local villagers are objecting to the proposals. One described the ‘irony’ of creating community parkland within a pre-exising national park as a ‘sick joke.’

The proposed development site in StorringtonThe proposed development site in Storrington
The proposed development site in Storrington

Another described the proposals to establish allotments in the South Downs National Park as “an affront and should not be contemplated.”

Yet another said: “We don’t need a designated ‘recreation area’, the whole of the South Downs National Park is that by its nature.”

One resident pointed out that the existing Ravenscroft allotment site contained a great deal of debris including broken glass, carpets, polythene sheeting and plastic bottles.

“I am sure that introducing this detritus into the South Downs National Park will have nothing but a negative impact on the ecosystem.”