This year saw consultations on the Chichester Local Plan Review. It was evident that the strategic sites allocated in the adopted local plan (2014) had not produced the housing the council had hoped for.
The sites that have been approved following strategic allocation appear to be stalling because of complications over access, legal issues and what appears to be a simple lack of progress by developers.
The expectation is, that the review of the plan will substantially increase the annual housing requirement well above the current 435 units. The council is now looking at 10 further sites which could become strategic developments of 500 or more homes.
With so many eggs in one basket, and the allocation shared across only a handful of large scale strategic sites, the council have left themselves, and the countryside, exposed to speculative development if the local plan review is not successfully managed.
North of the District, the South Downs National Park Local Plan has been undergoing its pre-submission consultation and is due for examination in Spring 2018. It is likely to be adopted later in the year.
The preferred options document, which covers the whole Park across many Districts, appears to be a solid plan which has successfully identified smaller scale sites to meet its housing allocation. The plan also sets out a need for smaller homes, and is clear that there is likely to be a demand of only 5% of housing being 4 bedroom or more.
However, the plan still has to undergo likely challenges from developers at the examination who will inevitably test its soundness.
A Major issue over the past year has been the ongoing saga of the A27 improvements. The threat of a new expressway to the north of Chichester was controversially dropped by Highways England, and this, along with poorly conceived “improvements” to the existing road, led to a lack of local consensus and the scheme being cancelled by Government in the Spring.
CPRE have been involved in local community workshops along with resident’s groups and Parish Councils, which are looking to find a solution to the problem that is acceptable locally. WSCC will make a bid to Government for funding in the Spring of 2018, meaning improvements are unlikely to start until 2025 or beyond.
Our main concerns over the improvements are that they account for the large-scale development that will happen across the District in the coming years, and that they are developed in an integrated way taking account of the impact on local roads, the use of sustainable travel and the induced traffic that neighbouring schemes, such as those at Arundel, will have.
CPRE have been opposed to large scale new bypass plans, both at Chichester and Arundel, for the damage they will do to the countryside. But the impact of badly designed and poorly mitigated improvements to the existing road, with flyovers and large land take, is also a threat to the local countryside, and we will continue to press for this to be considered as important as improving journey times.
There are numerous other “projects” ongoing close to the City such as the ‘Chichester Vision’ - a redevelopment of the Southern Gateway, and the ‘Road Space Audit’, all of which require monitoring and input to encourage integrated thinking from the local authorities.
The District will see these issues continue over the coming years, along with numerous smaller issues that threaten the countryside and the sense of place that communities in the District have.
As a local group we are looking for more local people to join us in order for CPRE to have a more influential involvement in the local area. Please get in touch via the office if you feel you have the passion and time to help and would like to join the group. Tel: 01825 8860256 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
