Lidsey farm buildings can now be replaced by housing development

Five agricultural buildings, including a grain store, will be demolished at Lidsey Lodge Farm, at Sack Lane, and replaced by the homes with gardens, access, parking, and landscaping.

The site is on the north side of Sack Lane and east of the A29.

The homes will range from two to four bedrooms and will be built in a ‘horseshoe arrangement’ with 20 parking spaces.

Planning officers said the homes would have a ‘very traditional style similar to agricultural buildings or converted barns’.

Arun District Council’s Planning Committee approved the plans with conditions on 25 May.

A similar scheme was refused last year (AL/75/21/PL) as there are ‘significant trees’ in the area; parking was thought to be inadequate; and the site is in flood zone 3.

But officers said the district’s housing land supply was less than three years and the biodiversity measures in the resubmitted scheme mean the ‘benefits outweigh any harm’.

Aldingbourne Parish Council objected due to the site’s rural location, calling the scheme ‘unsustainable’.

There were four objections and one letter of support.

Some concerns were expressed about the potential loss of habitat by removing trees and a bund.

But planning officers said tree planting and hedging would make up for this and result in a biodiversity net gain.

Planning Committee members were also concerned about whether travel to and from the site would be sustainable and said the lack of paths in the area could harm accessibility.

But the highways authority did not object to the scheme.