Plans for 54 homes in gap between East Preston and Ferring

Seaward Homes is holding an online public consultation until Friday (June 17) before it submits a planning application to Arun District Council.

The 54 homes would be built off Kingston Lane just south of Somerset Road.

Seaward said its development would not only improve the immediate road network of Kingston Lane, but also provide a ‘high quality, sustainable housing scheme’ with a tree-lined street scene, electric vehicle charging points, access by foot to local facilities, open spaces and links to the wider footpath network.

But the East Preston and Kingston Preservation Society has described how new housing proposals are ‘getting depressingly frequent’.

Sioned Vos, chairman of the society, described how the site is part of the East Preston – Ferring Gap and how the current Local Plan provides a ‘good balance of conversation and necessary development’.

She said: “Quite apart from preserving the character of this part of Kingston, and agricultural land, there is the problem of access and infrastructure. The road going into East Preston and towards Kingston has limited capacity, with the level crossing causing frequent tailbacks, and the ‘improvements’ to the A259 will not be able to cope with more and more traffic being added from the 1,000 houses being built in Angmering, let alone new housing estates being proposed here, at Rustington and in Ferring.

"Growing numbers of houses are not being matched by by improved local services, which are now increasingly under strain. We urge anyone who receives one of these circulars not to tear it up in anger but to take the opportunity of the consultation to respond clearly and firmly.”

The case has been taken up by ‘Protect our Gaps’ (ProGaps) an alliance of amenity and residents groups from Angmering and along the coast from Rustington to Worthing. Its convenor, Ed Miller (Ferring Conservation Group) said: “This is a battle for the green fields and gaps between settlements that concerns everyone in our part of West Sussex. We all need and enjoy the countryside and we all must do everything we can to keep the gaps green and open.”

Visit https://www.seawardproperties.co.uk/planning/land-east-of-kingston-lane-east-preston/