Protest at thousands of North Bersted homes being planned

Some 250 people packed into Tuesday's meeting organised by the Villagers Action Group to oppose thousands of homes being built in the area.

Action group member Les Payne said: "We don't want to see the coalescence of our villages into one big urban sprawl. We want action to preserve our environment."

This sentiment was backed by a unanimous vote against any large-scale development in Westergate, Eastergate and Barnham.

Among the reasons given for the opposition were the lack of jobs in the area, the extra traffic generated, the potential for worsening existing flooding and drainage problems, devastation of the countryside and the location being sited away from the most housing need.

Louise Beaton, another action group member, urged those present to make their comments officially known during the consultation process into the formation of Arun District Council's local development framework land use policy.

"This is so important. It's the number of responses to the local development framework which will count for a lot at the end of the day," she commented.

The prospect of turning the area into a large housing estate has been raised by its inclusion as one of three options in the framework to accommodate some 6,000 homes on fields up to 2026.

The WEB proposal is not currently the council's favoured choice. But those at the meeting at Aldingbourne Sports and Social Club were warned against being complacent.

If it went ahead, facts given by Eastergate Parish Council chairman Cllr Mick Hutton showed the new housing would swamp the existing villages. It would fill the area between the railway line and the A27 and across to Tangmere.

"We must stop this ridiculous scheme at all costs," he stated.

Mike Turner, a founder of The Villages Action Group in 2003 to fight a previous development proposal, said: "We don't think development of the three villages is sensible in any way. The schools are full, the doctors' surgeries are full and the roads are clogged."

Outright opposition was expressed at the meeting to any revival of previous proposals for a Westergate bypass.

This would include a bridge over the railway line to remove the notorious delays at the Woodgate level crossing. But it would be at a cost of some 2,000 homes.

Cllr Melissa Briggs, one of the area's three district councillors, told the meeting some new housing was inevitable. "We are not going to get away with saying we don't want all housing."

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