Shaping North Bersted's future

The document has been prepared in keeping with the government's declared aim of putting neighbourhoods in charge of their destinies.

Its creation by the Bersted and West Meads Neighbourhood Planning Group puts it at the forefront of the efforts to put development issues with those most affected by them.

Bersted parish councillor Ann Smee launched the document at this month's parish council meeting.

She said: "Neighbourhoods and communities now have a real opportunity to spell out what is particularly valuable in their area and what needs to be done to preserve it.

"Our paper sets out to do just that."

She said large-scale development '“ such as the proposed Bognor Regis eco-quarter plans for 2,500 homes off Chalcraft Lane '“ would destroy all that was important and valuable in the area.

"Bersted is a semi-rural area and we want to keep it that way," she said.

It was essential to spell that out, to leave those who determined planning policies and applications clear about the wishes of residents, she added.

The parish council unanimously agreed to support the document before it was sent to Arun District Council for information.

Cllr Martin Lury said: "This encompasses a lot of what the parish council has been saying for years. I can't see any reason why we can't support this.

"This council has been crying out for genuine consultation from various bodies for years, only to be ignored."

The neighbourhood planning group has arisen from the Clued Up campaign group formed to fight the eco-quarter proposals last year.

Its document says the quality of life for those who live in North Bersted and West Meads has worsened in the past 20 years with more frequent traffic congestion and flooding.

It had also suffered the loss of high-grade farmland, but still had highly-productive land and beautiful views across to the South Downs and Chichester.

Those were aspects which needed to be preserved along with stability in the level of traffic on roads and the enhancement of local features such as the conservation areas.

But the group's members acknowledge more jobs are needed to tackle the out-commuting to work which plays a large part in clogging up the roads.

They call for extra employment space to be located as much as possible in the industrial/retail area alongside the A29 Shripney Road and alongside existing industrial estates across the district but to be kept away from the A259.

They also want the A29 to be upgraded as the Bognor area's only link to the more prosperous north of the county. Any new housing should be located along that improved road.

The document sets out as well the assets of North Bersted and West Meads which residents want to see protected.

They include the North Bersted Street and Shripney Lane conservation areas, the garden estate aspect of West Meads and its Queen's Field public open space and businesses in The Precinct.

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