Chichester offices can now be demolished and replaced with homes

The application from Bellway Homes, for the former Bartholomews Holdings office, in Bognor Road, was given the nod during a meeting of the planning committee on Wednesday (June 15).

The plans were deferred by the committee in March for information to be gathered on a number of issues, including whether a traffic island could be included on Bognor Road to make crossing safer for pedestrians.

The answer to that question was ‘no’ – a decision John-Henry Bowden (Lib Dem, Chichester West) called ‘a poor show’ and ‘a very bad marketing error’ from the developer.

Officers, though, said it would not have been ‘appropriate or necessary’ to insist a traffic island be included.

A couple of conditions which were met were for a photographic record of the office’s archway to be kept and for detailing to be added to the back wall of one of the homes.