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Thank you to all those who came along to my public meeting at Sir Robert Woodard Academy on January 25th and I am grateful to Adur Planning officer James Appleton who answered most of the questions as well as ward councillors Brian Boggis and George Barton. Unfortunately the developers Persimmon declined to come and answer questions along with the owners of the land Sompting Estates. This was particularly disappointing given that the meeting came about because of complaints from residents that they had not been consulted about the plans and only a select few had been invited to a brief ‘drop-in’ held by the developers at the Harriet Johnson Centre on October 10th. At that session the developers stated that a formal planning application would be submitted later I 2017 and that resident’s concerns from the drop-in would be published and responded to. I am afraid that neither of those things have happened.
I have therefore written to the developers taking up a number of points raised at the meeting as well as an indication as to when they will submit their proposals though that still looks to be some months away as the Planning Department have heard little from them recently. As the developers were not present we used slides at the meeting taken from the presentation boards used at the Harriet Johnson Centre and these can be seen online at www.landatwestsompting.co.uk
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There was a discussion about the Adur Local Plan which has now been passed and which identifies the Wes Sompting site as potentially suitable for development so it was likely that the development would go ahead but there are significant opportunities to shape what actually is approved. It was pointed out that Adur Council had pulled off something of a masterstroke as the Planning Inspector had originally specified that Adur needs to take some 5820 additional homes up to 2032 but because of the specific pressures on Adur District with the National Park to the North and sea to the South that figure had been negotiated down to 3609. That is still a challenge but much less so than if the plan had been rejected by the national inspector ad then we would have lost control over the numbers and nature of the new build. That is what has happened to neighbouring councils Arun and Mid Sussex which have both had their Local Plans rejected on much higher housing demand requirements.
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Given that the land is still owned by the Tristram family through Sompting Estates there should be a greater chance of influencing the development given Mike Tristram’ s involvement in the local community and commitment to environmental good causes. In particular I raised the prospect of the developers doing more to ensure a large portion of the 520 new dwellings are made available at a genuinely affordable rent or sale price to genuinely local people wanting to stay in the area.
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The local air pollution group AREA raised some points about the existing problems with air quality in Adur and how increased traffic here would not help. I also gave an update on the likely next moves with the A27 upgrade as well as with the New Monks Farm development which is still out to public consultation.
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The major concerns were predictably around traffic where West Street is of course already a nightmare. Councillor George Barton also gave an update at the meeting about his attempts to get the County Council to agree temporary road closures between the A27 ad West Street to see if this would help with reducing rat running which is the main problem.
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Several residents asked whether a new link road between the new development and Willowbrook Road in East Worthing to take pressure off the limited car access points proposed. As this is land owned by Sompting Estates and is similar to original ideas from the 1990’s regarding the so called East Worthing Access Road I have written to the developers to ask about the mechanics of this.
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A number of people asked about adequate parking provision give the possible pressure on side roads if there is not enough spaces as has happened elsewhere on new developments and again I have asked about that.
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A number of residents were concerned about the possibility of ‘sprawl’ from the development particularly at the south eastern end where a lot of clearance work has already taken place without explanation. Would the ‘green gap’ actually survive and what community access is actually likely for the community open spaces etc.
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Inevitably people were concerned about emergency vehicles being able to get through traffic congestion as well as suitable local GP and school provision available for the increased demand from new residents. Again it is unclear what the response of developers would be and what requirements there would be by the Planning Authority given the lack of details available thus far.
The meeting was a very helpful exercise though it was a great disappointment that the developers did not think it important to turn up and speak to the residents who will be affected most of all. I urges everyone to make sure they have their views known when the official application is submitted and consulted on and I urges residents to fill in the surveys which we have distributed around Sompting and which I would pass on to the planning Department as part of the formal consultative when appropriate. When I get any feedback from the developers I will post t on my website and in future newsletters.