Westhampnett now a '˜dumping ground' for Chichester

That’s is according to the village’s parish council chairman after a much opposed development of 300 homes was approved by Chichester District Council (CDC) planners last week.

Cllr Bill Harding said: “We are sick and tired of our village being used as a dumping ground for whatever Chichester comes up with. First it was the Chichester city dump, then the travellers’ site, then 99 houses at Basket World and now this.”

It follows the outline approval of the 300 homes, on land north of Stane Street, by a narrow margin of six votes to five.

The site is named as a strategic location in CDC’s local plan, but the application attracted nearly 200 objections from residents.

“The application was originally 1,500, it came down to 500, then 350 and now 300 has been approved,” cllr Harding said.

“When the latest plans were submitted we were going to work closely with the developer to make sure it was 300 homes which really fit into the surrounding area, but the next thing we knew there was the addition of two football pitches on a piece of waterlogged agricultural land.

“They are also going to put a ludicrous road following the eastern boundary of the field until it reaches the river Lavant and then following the Lavant to the football pitches. “The houses will be in front of two listed cottages and will also ruin the view of two or three other listed buildings in Old Place Lane.

He added: “The problem is they are not really developers as such, they are consent obtainers. They have never had anything built anything themselves, they get the applications in and then hand over to somebody else, which is why we are really concerned because everything we have agreed could just go right out of the window.

“We know 300 homes will go there but we don’t know what they are going to look like, which is why we are really annoyed Chichester planners approved it.

“The district council shows no consideration to the people of Westhampnett whatsoever, and this is another example of the complete disrespect for what this community wants and deserves.”

A spokesman for CEG Development said: “This site is allocated in the Local Plan and we continue to engage with the Local Authority to ensure that it can be delivered in line with their aspirations for development on this site. “CEG delivers high quality new developments around the UK and we have secured a number of coveted national Placemaking Awards as a result of working closely with local stakeholders and residents to bring forward aspirational and vibrant new communities.”

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