County council says five sites surplus to requirements

The St Joseph Infant School site, in Orchard Gardens, Chichester, has been empty since the school moved to the neighbouring junior school site last year.

The council now plans to ask the Department for Education for permission to dispose of the site or use it for something other than education.

The decision to declare the site surplus was taken by Jeremy Hunt, county council cabinet member for finance and property, on Monday (October 21).

The other properties are: the former caretaker’s cottage at Easebourne Primary School; 7.7 acres of heavily wooded land known as Severals Bottom, near Owlbeech Way, Horsham; 0.96 acres of farmland in Hoe Lane, Felpham; and a railway carriage at the former West Grinstead Railway station.

Declaring the assets surplus to requirements allows the council to decide whether to sell them or look into using them for some other purpose. This could include redevelopment, regeneration, social, community and environmental use.

The 75-year-old railway carriage – a former British Rail Mk I – had been used as an information centre by the council’s countryside service.

The carriage is in need of restoration and the plan is to offer it to the community through the Community Asset Transfer process.

The caretaker’s cottage has been empty for some years, since the previous caretaker retired. The property will be put up for sale.

The council owns the freehold for the farmland in Felpham, which is held under an Agricultural Holding Act agreement, with security of tenure for the current tenant whose family has farmed the land since the 1960s.

Negotiations will be held with the tenant, who wants to buy the land.

As for the intriguingly named Severals Bottom, the proposal is to sell it to Horsham District Council or another third party, with a covenant to ensure it remains as woodland.

The land was originally bought for highways purposes but was not needed, so has been overseen by the county council’s countryside team.

It is designated Ancient Woodland and is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.