Decision due on plans for 200 homes south of Barnham Railway Station

The site, just south of Barnham Railway Station and accessed from Marshall Close, is 13.8 hectares and currently houses an equestrian facility with some stables and paddocks, as well as the remains of several old buildings.

The proposal would see 200 homes built in total, ranging from two to two and half stories for individual homes – with up to three stories for the planned apartment blocks.

The reserved matters application will be decided by the Arun District Council’s special planning committee, at 2pm Wednesday June 28, at the Arun Civic Centre in Littlehampton.

The development would be within 300 metres of eight heritage listed buildings, within the bounds of the Church Lane Conservation Area, which was a big point of contention for Arun District Council when this development was last before the planning committee.

Barnham and Eastergate Parish Council objected to the proposal on several grounds, such as three storey apartment block being too tall, not enough affordable housing and its integration into the larger development and a lack of privacy afforded by certain balconies and drainage issues

The report has recommended that the committee approve of the application conditionally and that the public benefit of the development outweighed the potential harm to heritage assets.

It also stated that the Environment Agency had taken no issue with the development, and that this should be another reason, on balance, that the committee approve the application.

An outline application for the site was refused by the council back in 2021, but its decision was overruled by aninspector at appeal.