'Sleeper town' fears over new Bersted homes plans

Berkeley Homes (Southern Ltd) wants to build the homes on top of the previously-approved 650 houses at the Chichester Road site.

Bersted Parish Council clerk Fiona Dobbs said: "The council has been against the Site Six application since it was introduced more than five years ago.

"Our concerns are mainly with the lack of infrastructure.

"There are not enough transport links, including roads, and flooding in the area is significant. All councillors are worried Bersted will become a suburb, a sleeper town where people stay but work somewhere else.

"We want to increase the economy of Bersted, and this is not going to provide employment."

The new planning application is to erect 373 dwellings with associated access, landscaping and engineering works, in substitution for previously-approved plans.

This means an extra 106 homes on top of what has been approved before. The new application comes with an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Mrs Dobbs added: "They want to add more smaller housing, rather than bigger housing. The Section 106 agreement was to improve the infrastructure but this has been delayed while the house building continues.

"And now they want to increase housing. This is what the council is most concerned about. The housing numbers are going up but none of the infrastructure issues is being dealt with."

A decision on the new planning application will be made by the planning committee at Arun District Council by January next year.

To view the plans quote the planning application reference number BE/122/10.