Green Light For 90 New Homes In Arundel

Outline plans to build 90 homes in Arundel have been approved by Arun District Council.

The application, for land on Ford Road, near Stewards Rise, was given the nod at a meeting of the planning committee on Wednesday (July 21).

Submitted by The Norfolk Estate, the plans for the 10-hectare site include 27 affordable homes as well as land for a community building and allotments.

The application attracted well over 100 letters of objection along with a 691-name petition from people who were opposed to the site being allocated for housing in the Arundel Neighbourhood Plan.

The loss of agricultural land and fears the gap between Arundel and Ford was being reduced piece by piece were among the concerns raised.

Others wondered about the history of the site – the southern end of which backs up to the Tortington Priory scheduled monument – saying that Roman coins and bits of tile had been found there.

Addressing the meeting, resident Alison Wilkinson appealed to the councillors to ‘put heritage over homes’.

She said:

“Arundel instead of being the jewel in Arun’s crown would just become another urban sprawl of new houses, linking up with Ford and losing its uniqueness.”

Historic England, though, raised no objections, giving advice to the applicant and suggesting some amendments to the plans could be made later in the planning process.

The committee did not take long to approve the application.

There were concerns, though, from Isabel Thurston (Green, Barnham), who said she was worried that no traffic calming or speed limit reduction along Ford Road had been agreed.

She added:

“We're talking about building outside the built-up area in open countryside on a 60mph road – and we think that’s safe.”

Others said the plans were ‘exciting’ – and were especially pleased with the number of affordable homes included in the application.

To view the application, log on to www.arun.gov.uk/weekly-lists and search for AB/135/20/OUT.