Campaigners continue to protest against plans for 191 houses in West Sussex village

An outline planning application was submitted, on Thursday, August 15, for land west of Bewley Road in Angmering.

The developer, Gleeson Land, hopes to build 190 residential dwellings and a community building – together with the provision of open space, landscaping and associated infrastructure. It is proposed that 30 per cent (up to 57 homes) would be affordable housing.

The community building included as part of the proposed development is intended to be occupied specifically by Cancer United – an Angmering-based charity, which helps people whose lives have been affected by a cancer diagnosis. The application stated that there would be ‘significant benefits’ arising from the proposed new facility.

A large group of campaigners met at the site of the proposed application on Saturday (February 22).

Angela Colliss, a member of the Protect Farmland West of Bewley Road (PFWBR) action group, said: “We are trying to stop the building of yet another 191 houses in the village – this time on 39 acres of prime agricultural land at the end of a narrow cul de sac.

“ADC have rubber stamped the last 22 large scale housing applications in the village, the result being that the population has increased from about 4,000 to 11,000 people in just 11 years. ADC have already approved 78 per cent more housing than their own target, with five years still left to run till their original target date.

“The campaign has drawn huge support with a staggering 1,240 objections been written and sent to ADC. This is by far the most amount of objections ever received for any proposed development.”

Lucy Todd, another PFWBR representative, read out a speech on Saturday.

She said: “The campaign to save the fields behind us has gone from strength to strength and continues to grow as more and more people realise what they stand to lose if the Gleeson’s planning application is approved.

“It would be very easy for us to rest on our laurels and wait for the planning committee but PFWBR know that we need to keep our profile up locally so that our voice is heard.

"The village of Angmering has seen 22 housing schemes approved by Arun District Council with 1,263 houses built in the last 3 years.

"It is now abundantly clear to us that there isn’t sufficient infrastructure to support this growth. Our roads are jammed with traffic, our health services are on their knees, our schools are over-subscribed – it is quite simply unsustainable.

"The 190 new homes proposed by Gleeson on prime agricultural land will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We cannot stand idly by while those in power make the decisions for us.”

The campaigners have written to the case officer, who is also the head of planning to request a meeting to discuss whether the application can be deferred until the final version of the Land Use Framework is published later this year.

Lucy Todd added: “We hope our request will be viewed favourably, in the light of the vast number of objections that the application has received to date.

"We will continue to keep you updated on our campaign via the village Facebook but do feel free to contact us via our email and website if you have any further ideas to promote the campaign.”

In response, Arun District Council said it ‘is aware of the event that took place at the weekend’.

A spokesperson added: “We welcome the engagement of local residents in the planning process and the representations received will all be taken into account when preparing a report for the Planning Committee’s consideration.”

A planning application, submitted by Nexus Planning – an agency acting on Gleeson Land’s behalf – stated that the ‘adverse impacts’ of the development would ‘not outweigh the significant range of benefits’, which include:

– Delivery of 133 new market homes in an area with a ‘significant and persistent shortfall’;

– Delivery of 30 per cent affordable homes (up to 57 homes) in a ‘highly sustainable location’;

– Provision of a new community building, intended for the use of Cancer United;

– Creation of a ‘high-quality’ physical and social environment with the ‘creation and enhancement’ of new and existing supportive infrastructure. This includes an ‘extensive network of useable open space’, providing ‘health and wellbeing benefits’.

– A ‘genuinely landscape-led development’ which ‘responds positively to the prevailing character of the area’;

– Increased spending by new residents in local shops; businesses and other services to ‘help facilitate the growth of the local economy’;

– ‘Support the employment’ of 589 people and provide six apprenticeships, graduates or trainees.

Nexus Planning’s statement continued: “Affordable housing tenure mix is proposed to be 75 per cent affordable rent and 25 per cent intermediate housing and this provision will be secured by a section 106 agreement.

"Angmering is a sustainable location for development and the site is immediately adjacent to the Built-Up Area Boundary of Angmering – a village as identified in the Local Plan as providing an enhanced range of shops, employment opportunities, community facilities and services. The site is clearly in a suitable and sustainable location for development.

"The applicant has engaged positively with the council and the local community and responded to issues raised through that process, which has informed the evolution of the scheme and enhanced the package of benefits provided.”

According to Arun District Council’s planning website, this application is a ‘departure from the development plan’ and ‘may affect’ a public right of way; the ‘character and appearance ‘of the Angmering Conservation Area and ‘the setting of listed buildings’.

PFWBR distributed 2,000 flyers in the village as they wanted to ‘amplify voices of local people’ who are ‘tired of overdevelopment and feel they have not been listened to’.

A spokesperson added: “There is a serious lack of associated infrastructure to go with all the new housing.”

To view the application, visit the council’s planning portal (www.arun.gov.uk/planning-application-search) and search for reference A/154/24/OUT.