District Groups in West Sussex

Current Activities in West Sussex

Residents vow to fight Ford Eco-Town
Local residents packed into Yapton and Ford Village Hall on Thursday evening (1 May) to voice their concerns at the proposal to build an eco-town at Ford.

It was standing room only as around 250 residents from Ford, Yapton, Climping, Walberton, Barnham, Arundel and other towns and villages arrived to meet members of local campaign group Communities Against Ford Eco-Town (CAFE).

CAFE Co-Chairman and Yapton resident Terry Knott explained how concerned residents of Ford, Yapton, Climping and Arundel had come together to form the campaign group, backed by Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert and Bognor Regis & Littlehampton MP Nick Gibb.

Yapton resident and CAFE vice-chairman Vicky Newman, a local surveyor, explained the full extent of the eco-town proposals. She said that at least 5,000 houses could be built on land around the former Ford Airfield site.

Mrs Newman quoted figures published by the Government which suggest that over 87 per cent of the site consists of greenfield land. Less than 13 per cent of the site consists of brownfield land.

Arundel resident and CAFE member Derek Waller described the lack of transport infrastructure in West Sussex , already projected to get much worse in the next decade. Mr Waller said the eco-town at Ford would exacerbate the problem, leading to increased congestion on our roads.

Mr Waller reminded everyone that a new bypass for the A27 at Arundel would not be completed until 2018 at the earliest and there were no plans to upgrade the already crowded A259.

Climping resident and CAFE member Geoff Dixon expressed his doubt that enough new jobs would be created at Ford to meet the needs of an eco-town.

Mr Dixon said that developers would encourage businesses in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton to relocate to Ford and, in the process, draw investment and jobs away from those areas. Despite this, he believed that Ford would be a “dormitory town”.

Mr Knott called on the audience to lend their support to CAFE by attending future public meetings, signing the petition, writing to the Government, donating to the campaign and displaying a poster or car sticker. He also urged residents to take part in the march and rally on Saturday 7 June at 11am (further details to be announced).

Mr Knott commented: “I was delighted by the huge turnout at the meeting and was overwhelmed by numerous offers of support. Local residents are very angry about this half-baked proposal for an eco-town, at Ford. Many support the concept of such a town, but it does not make ecological or economic sense, to site it here. It will destroy a large area of highly productive green-field land, will be boxed in by poor transport links and we are convinced will prove to be unsustainable.”

•  For the website of CAFE, visit www.NoFordEcotown.com

•  CAFE Campaign Coordinator Susan West can be contacted on 01903 714528 or e-mail campaign@nofordecotown.com

•  The consultation paper issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), entitled ‘Eco-towns: Living a Greener Future', can be viewed at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/
ecotownsgreenerfuture

•  Members of the public wishing to take part in the consultation can write to: Eco-towns Team, Housing and Growth Programmes, Communities and Local Government, 2/H9 Eland House, Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5DU (e-mail: ecotowns@communities.gsi.gov.uk)

•  The consultation ends on 30 June 2008.

•  For further details of the Ford eco-town proposal, visit www.arun.gov.uk/ecotown

Mid Sussex District Council - Core Strategy Pre-Submission Public Consultation
The CPRE Mid Sussex District Group held several meetings during February to ensure that their members were given opportunity to contribute to the District submission. Of the 15,000 new homes proposed for the District in the period to 2026, some 8,000 have already been allocated in previous planning guidance. The Core Strategy is therefore tasked with seeking sites for approximately 8,000 additional new homes in the District. The CPRE District Group had to consider the likely impacts of urban extension, rural development and/or a new settlement for Mid Sussex. The Consultation closed on 20th March 2008. We now await the MSDC's revised Core Strategy in the light of the consultation.

Coastal Defence Strategy
We have responded to the initial consultation document published by the Environment Agency, and Chichester and Arun District Councils, for sectors between Pagham Harbour and East Head. This makes proposals for the management of the coastline in the face of climate change (which will unarguably bring a rise in sea-levels and greater extremes of weather), and the local allocation of resources within a national strategy. Three alternatives are given for each sector: No active intervention / Hold the line / Managed realignment.

We recognise that a strategy of trying to “hold the line” may not be sustainable in the long term (King Canute has strong associations with our patch!) in all sectors, but where “managed realignment” is proposed we would expect well-researched and robust plans. We were most concerned about the proposals for:-

Medmerry Beach , where there is a high and increasing risk of the present defences (a gravel bank) being breached. The funding to maintain the bank will be withdrawn in two years' time; it is likely that the area immediately inland would be subject to increasingly frequent flooding, affecting housing, farmland and services. A strong local campaign has been launched to maintain the present defences if possible; we support the objectives of this campaign, but at the same time would urge the EA to prepare detailed plans for managed realignment, fully costed (including provision for compensation) and open for further consultation.

East Head , which moves and changes in size in response to natural forces; its alignment has a crucial influence on access to and the conservation of Chichester Harbour We have consulted with the National Trust (who own it) at local and regional level, the Harbourmaster, and Portsmouth University (who have conducted research). Richard Hill has contributed a detailed paper (informed also by his experience as a yachtsman) to the Environment Agency, urging that the Head's present alignment should be maintained if at all possible, and further research be carried out to better understand how to do so.

Now the consultation exercise has been completed, we await Defra's statement of policy, to be published in Spring 2008.

Freshfield Lane Brickworks
We are delighted with the Inspector's decision to rule against Cory environmental's proposal to use Freshfield Lane Brickworks as a landfill site. CPRE Sussex has objected to the proposal throughout its history, which dates back to 2003, as it lies within the High Weald AONB. The inevitable increase in vehicular movements (in particular heavy lorries) would intrude into this protected rural area. Residents and members of the Freshfield Action Group mounted an effective local campaign which we have been pleased to support. Naturally, they are delighted with the decision.

"BOAT" status for Byeway 952 rejected
After two Public Inquiries and a High Court Appeal, WSCC rejected an application by The Trail Riders Fellowship for the status of a section of the South Downs Way (Byeway 952) between Cocking, Heyshott and Graffham to be changed from a Restricted Byeway to a BOAT (Byeway Open to All Traffic). Members from Chichester North District have objected to the application throughout the history of the proposal, together with the local parishes, the District Council, the British Horse Society and local landowners. an Appeal can be made within 28 days but if upheld this section of the Downs could become lost to a hill scramble as a circular route could be set up with access from linking paths from below the hill. There are several similar applications in the pipe-line aiming to open up tracks as BOATS and this case shows that it is worth fighting to keep motorised vehicles off them.

Strategic Development at East Grinstead
Mid Sussex District Council are currently digesting the 6,750 comments they received in response to the consultation of the East Grinstead Loca Area Action Plan. The current draft plan is to be revised and will be re-issued in the autumn.
>Download the CPRE Mid Sussex response to the East Grinstead Area Action Plan (pdf 92KB)
Consultation on the proposed ringroad options will take place later this year.
For more about the threat to East Grinstead go to www.eghouses.org

Barnham countryside protected
We are delighted that an application for mixed use development of a 7.5ha site within the strategic gap at Barnham (Arundel) has been opposed as a direct result of our opposition.

South East Plan - Gatwick & Sussex Coast Sub Regions
We await with interest the Inspectors' Report following the South East Plan Examination in Public (EiP) Hearings. We have highlighted our concerns in our submissions to the questions posed by the panel of experts who lead the EiP. It is anticipated the EiP will lead to final approval of the SE Plan in early 2008.

Campaigning to Prevent Airport Expansion
In conjunction with our National Office in London CPRE Sussex is campaigning to ensure unjustified expansion of our County's airports is prevented. We strongly object to the "predict and provide" approach to aviation planning which should be replaced by a demand-managed system. This would contain airport expansion within the existing environmental capacity constraints. We also believe that the cost of air travel should reflect the significant environmental costs of flying. > Find out more

Horton Landfill Site, Small Dole
CPRE Horsham District Group have objected to a planning application to increase the capacity of this site by 500,000tonnes by raising its height by 4 metres and extending its tipping period from 1st April 2008 to October 2010. The proposed increase in height amounts to landraising which is excluded from West Sussex waste policies. The proposal will lead to an unacceptable impact on nearby communities. The original planning permission stipulated that site restoration would follow completion and the finished ground surface levels were to merge into the surrounding area.Thus creating the appearance of a natural extension of the local landscape. The proposed increase in height does not comply with this objective and would create an alien landscape feature.

A27 Chichester By-Pass
We are considering the Highways Authority's roundabout proposals for Portfield, Oving, Stockbridge and Fishbourne on the heavily congested A27 Chichester By-Pass. We are looking at the affects of these developments on the infrastructure of the whole of the Chichester Harbour area. We welcome the policy for improved public transport with prioritised rights of way.

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