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Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, as owners of the New Monks Farm site, have now formally applied for planning permission for this substantial development in Lancing. This is the largest development in Adur for some time and will have considerable ramifications for the whole area and work could begin before the end of the year so it is vital that local residents are fully engaged with what is being proposed and have their voices heard. The full plans run to no fewer than 325 documents which are available on the Adur Planning Department website. To view the planning application members of public can follow the link below and click on View (and comment on) planning applications and type the reference number AWDM/0961/17 in the search field: Adur & Worthing Planning Public Access
The planning application is AWDM/0961/17 you can submit your comments online or by post. The flood impact assessment alone runs to 306 pages! It includes plans for up to 600 houses, a new primary school, community hub, country park and IKEA
I have serious reservations about the sustainability of this scheme but particularly about the inclusion of an IKEA superstore which is projected to attract 2 million customers a year. I have met representatives of IKEA and asked for details of how their projections of traffic movements for their Southampton branch have turned out 10 years on from its opening. So far this information has not been forthcoming. I have also asked Brighton & Hove Albion FC for the business plan for the development to justify why it depends on the inclusion of IKEA to make it viable. Again I have to date not been given that information. This is particularly worrying as the admission that the recently published proposals for upgrading the A27 do not factored in any impact assessment for the inclusion of IKEA as it has ‘no formal standing’ at this stage.
From the start I set out three criteria that I think need to be satisfied before the development can go ahead and this needs to be seen in the context of the lack of building space in Adur outside of the National Park and the shortage of affordable housing.
- The development must deal with the existing flooding problem in this part of Lancing which means addressing the hazard to homes already there not just making new ones ‘flood resistant.’ Extensive schemes are included in the plan but they need to prove that they are fit for purpose.
- The development should be able to show why it would benefit the existing residents – jobs, environmental impact, additional amenities etc.
- Can the current infrastructure, and especially the transport infrastructure, cope with the significant increase in traffic?
Whilst the jury may be out on the first two, I just cannot see how the already congested A27 will be able to cope with 2 million IKEA customers in particular and this is where I will be posing most questions. It is proposed to be up and running well before any upgrading work on the A27 actually starts and we still are not clear how effective the final proposals will be or when they will be finalised. Adur Planning Department will be responsible for the public consultation but I will also be organising a public meeting with local councillors to give Lancing and Sompting residents the opportunity to raise questions and concerns with me and local councillors. The details are:
Talk to Tim
What: New Monks Farm, the A27 and other issues
Where: Lancing Parish Hall
When: Thursday September 14th 7pm