Plans for 2,000 homes for Bognor submitted

Landowners the Church Commissioners and David Langmead have handed in a formal application to build up to 2,000 homes on farmland north of Chalcraft Lane.

Their hundreds of pages of proposals for some 700 acres also include about 50,000sq m of business floorspace as well as community facilities, play areas and open space.

The scheme has been dubbed the Bognor Regis Eco-Quarter because

of its energy-efficient buildings, widespread recycling, local food

production and sustainable travel.

Energy-generating technologies likely to be used are combined heat and power systems and solar thermal rooftop arrays.

Steve Melligan, of the commissioners, said: "We are confident that, through the work carried out, we can be at the forefront of delivering

a truly sustainable development that will set a benchmark for other such schemes.

"It will make the eco-quarter the sort of place businesses and future residents will be proud of and want to be a part of."

But campaigners have criticised the timing of the planning application's handover to Arun District Council.

The council has yet to decide which areas should be earmarked for

development up to 2026. The Chalcraft Lane site is among the preferred options until the final decision is made on December 9.

Tom Frears, a member of the Clued Up campaign group fighting the plans, said he was astonished the application had been put in before councillors had assessed all the information needed to allocate land for building.

"We would have expected better from a body of the Church of England," he said.

"This planning application is a gross violation of that democratic process and disadvantages other developers who are respecting that process and may have more appropriate sites to offer.

"The location of this huge development seems entirely inappropriate and would cause major traffic congestion on the A259, which is already at capacity."

The applicants say their proposals include improvements to the road network around Bognor. Among these is an extension of the yet-to-be built relief road from the A259 to the B2166 Lower Bognor Road and bus priority measures along sections of the A259.

No development will take place in the floodplain and 40 per cent of the site will be open space.

A network of ditches and ponds will be created for excess water to add to the area's attractiveness.

Mr Melligan said people's views at previous exhibitions had been taken into account.

These had led to an emphasis on family homes rather than flats, food production such as allotments and transport links to Bognor to aid its regeneration.

Exhibitions of the proposals will be held at the Jubilee Community Centre on the evening of August 14 and at the Regis Centre in Bognor the next day.

What do you think? Click here to send a letter to [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.

MAP