Resident wins fight to save neighbour's home in North Bersted

Rosemary Brown faced having her semi-detached house in Bucksham Avenue turned into a detached property.

The site of the adjoining semi-detached house, number 17, would have become an access road to a new estate of seven houses.

Councillors said the scheme was unacceptable because of the effect it would have on Mrs Brown's house as well as the new estate's impact on the area.

Mrs Brown (76), who has lived in No15 for 50 years, said: "I am very relieved the plans have been refused.

"I am pleased and grateful to the councillors for their decision.

"This matter has been going on since Christmas and I'm glad the uncertainty is no longer hanging over me."

Councillors decided that the new housing proposed by Phoenix Homes Ltd would be crammed onto the site and would not fit in with the surrounding housing.

They also believed the volume of traffic generated by the proposed housing would damage the quality of lives of residents in Bucksham Avenue.

Cllr Jim Brooks (Bognor Marine) said: "I can't think of anything more unneighbourly than what is going to happen here. I am very much against this."

Cllr Sylvia Olliver (Bersted) said: "This is a dreadful plan. There is so much of this which is wrong. I can't go along with it."

Cllr Jacqueline Maconachie (Aldwick West) stated: "Demolishing half a property does not add to the amenity value of an area. The proposed houses are also two-and-a-half storeys high. There is nothing in the area of this height. So, this is totally out of character."

Cllr Simon McDougall (Bersted) claimed that demolishing No15 Bucksham Avenue would leave No17 unstable and unfit to be lived in.

The land proposed for the new houses was a valuable buffer between current properties and the 650 homes set to be built as part of the site six development, he added.

The committee was told by Sue Halson-Brown, Mrs Brown's sister-in-law, that leaving No15 Bucksham Avenue on its own would have serious results.

"The visual and structural implications on No15 are likely to be considerable and will have a diminishing effect on the value of the property and on the appearance of Bucksham Avenue.

"No15 relies on the support of No17 for its protection and structural stability. Both properties are under a hipped roof.

"The removal of one half will leave an unbalanced hip and a gable ended roof. The unequal roof pressures, without redesign, will leave it in an unstable condition."

The removal of the party well between the two semi-detached properties would lead to problems of damp, excessive heat loss and condensation for No15, she claimed.

But Arun planning officer Keith Wheway warned councillors they could not refuse planning permission just because of the demolition of No17.

"The impact of the structural stability of the adjoining house would be controlled by other legislation and is not a material planning consideration," he stated.

Councillors also used the same reasons to reject proposals by Phoenix Homes Ltd to build three three-bedroom terraced houses on an adjoining site.

This scheme would have involved demolishing the bungalow at 426 Chichester Road in North Bersted.

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