Housing decisions should be in the hands of local people

March for Manhood and Harbour villages in January, after a petition was signed by 5,000 people opposing the urbanisation of the area around Chichester. Pic S Robards SR2201291

Councils have been forced to accommodate the dictated figure in their Local Plan - or face development chaos as builders enjoy an effective free for all if they take their proposals to appeal.

It is our view that development decisions should be wholly a matter for locally elected representatives, so we welcome the climb down by government in its Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill following a back bench rebellion.

In future, centrally-dictated targets are "advisory" instead of mandatory. The new rules will mean that town halls will be allowed to build fewer homes if they can show that hitting the targets would significantly change the character of an area.

Be in no doubt, large swathes of Sussex have been ruined in recent years by the levels of development - with insufficient roads, schools, GPs' surgeries and hospitals to cope with the influx. Much of this housing has been for people moving to the county - and has certainly not been truly low cost for local young people.

Key areas of outstanding beauty and scientific importance like Chichester Harbour have been put at risk through this planning madness.

The latest census data for the ten years from 2011 to 2021 shows that the county of West Sussex had the highest influx of population in the region - rising by nearly a tenth.

We look to our councils to act decisively in making the most of this shift - and we will back them in saying enough is enough. Chichester, for example, is being changed out of recognition on its southern flank through endless new developments while the city centre is at a permanent standstill.

We congratulate too MPs who have worked hard to bring about this change like Andrew Griffith, the MP for Arundel and the South Downs.

He said: “This is the news that West Sussex has long waited for. Giving local communities the power to tackle the blight of overdevelopment is a positive step forward. Since very first being elected I have always made clear my opposition to top-down housing targets leading to unsustainable development on green field sites. This new flexibility in our planning reforms will help protect our precious environment and countryside whilst prioritising brownfield land developments."