Ten reasons why the eco-town would be a disaster for Ford

Here are ten facts you should know about the proposed development.

n Ford Airfield is an area that is outside the Local Development Plan, so only limited house building if any can be allowed.

n 30 per cent of the site is classified as brownfield land, much of which is occupied by businesses. There is no necessity for 5,000 new homes on this site as the majority of the land is agricultural and is required strategically to feed the nation.

n The possibility of creating about 4,000 jobs in cutting-edge science, research and development, technology and light industries is highly unlikely because of the position of the site away from any major university. It will possibly reduce employment in the area through increased road congestion, causing existing businesses to move away.

n Ford Airfield New Town would scupper the future regeneration plans for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, as it would direct resources away from the towns and villages in the district.

n If Ford Airfield New Town is to be sustainable and the community facilities provided as planned, the housing will be either unaffordable or dramatically increased in numbers to achieve affordability.

n Ford Airfield New Town would create road traffic chaos to the A27, A259 and B2233.

n There is no guarantee the new-town development at Ford would bring an early delivery of the Arundel bypass.

n Environmentally, the development of a new town at Ford will be an ecological disaster, as it will be constructed on the Arun flood plain. The effect of building on the site is the probability the water table will be altered and flooding will ensue.

n There is a high probability many of the new houses would be uninsurable as many parts of the site are registered flood zones.

n The Ford Airfield vision group is a partnership '“ and committed to making profits on the development.

If a new town has to be built in the area, it must be on higher ground, such as Warningcamp Hill, which is ideally situated just north of the A27 and just east of the railway. This would have less of an ecological impact on the district, although would possibly still be undesirable.

Mike F Young, Yapton Road, Barnham

The South East Plan requires Arun District to make provision for 11,300 houses, subject to confirmation by the secretary of state.

The government has also announced it is aiming to complete a SE Plan partial review by 2011, with revised housing targets for local planning authorities that are likely to be '˜more stretching'.

Eco-town housing numbers will count towards those future targets.

Whichever way we care to look at it, we will need to make provision for a large number of houses in the period up to 2026.

The need for this is also clear. There are currently 3,880 households on the housing waiting list in Arun '“ and rising.

It is important to consider what happens if MPs Nick Herbert and Nick Gibb, along with CAF, are successful in their attempts to preserve what is possibly the largest brownfield site in the district.

The eco-town proposals offer 5,000 houses, of which only 2,000 are affordable. Even if we go ahead with an eco-town, half of the problem will still need to be addressed by other means.

Of course, if we don't go ahead with an eco-town, then the entire problem remains to be addressed by other means, and perhaps in locations less favoured by the MPs.

Tony Dixon, Barons Close, Westergate