Three options revealled for thousands of homes

Three options to build thousands more homes around Bognor Regis are set to be put before the public next year.

The suggestions will see land in North Bersted, Ford and the Six Villages go under scrutiny as prospective building sites.

And this is on top of controversial plans for a 5,000-home eco-estate at Ford.

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Initial agreement to put the North Bersted location, north of Chalcraft Lane, at the top of the list of preferences was given by Arun District Council members this week.

Their next option is to use Ford as the prime location for the housing. Finally, they want to consider placing the new homes around Barnham, Eastergate and Westergate.

The decision of the council's local development framework sub-committee on Tuesdaywill be put to all councillors on January 14. If agreed, a six-week public consultation will be held in February and March before the council decides its final choice.

This will be put before a public inquiry from which a government inspector will make a binding decision.

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Arun's leader Cllr Gill Brown said there were no easy answers about accommodating the housing which the government says the district needs up to 2026.

"It's going to be incredibly difficult to decide between these options. Infrastructure is going to be absolutely crucial in whatever combination of options is chosen," she stated.

Howard Cheadle, the council's planning consultant, explained the government had ordered Arun to enable 11,500 homes to be built between 2006-2026.

Of that number, 900 had been built in the past two years and 3,450 had been given planning permission.

This left land for 7,150 homes to be allocated.

What are the options?

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The first choice was for a series of extensions to existing built-up areas. This would see 2,500 homes placed north of Chalcraft Lane, a further 400 to 900 in Barnham, Eastergate and Westergate and the rest around Littlehampton.

The second choice was to put 5,000 homes in Ford to repeat the eco-town choice and 900 on other greenfield sites.

The third idea would see 2,500 homes built around Barnham, Westergate, Eastergate and Angmering plus 1,500 north of Littlehampton and 400 to 900 elsewhere.

Mr Cheadle made it clear these options could change as further studies were carried out by the council and in response to the public's comments.

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Cllr Simon McDougall (Bersted) said of the first option: "You are putting a population the equivalent size of a small town right on top of a town. This development is close to the Chichester boundary. Bogchester will start to come about."

He stressed improvements to the A27 were a must.

But he said he supported the options because they could only be a starting point.

Cllr Melissa Briggs (Barnham) presented a series of questions from the Villages Action Group. Among the points raised was the need to spread any development between small pockets of land among the villages to ensure each kept its character.

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