Plans to build 223 homes in Loxwood have been approved by Chichester District Council.
The outline application, from Martin Grant Homes, to build on agricultural land to the west of the village, was given the nod by the planning committee on Wednesday (November 4).
The development on a number of parcels of land at Loxwood Farm Place will be made up of 24 one-bedroom, 86 two-bedroom, 73 three-bedroom, and 40 four-bedroom homes, 89 of which will be classed as affordable.
There will also be space for a café and children’s nursery.
The council received 124 objections to the plans, as well as objections from Loxwood Parish Council and Alford Parish Council.
Concerns raised included the site being “disproportionately large” and sitting outside the settlement boundary, the capacity of the sewerage network, and the pressure on local infrastructure such as GPs, schools and roads.
Others felt the application was “premature” and should wait until Loxwood’s emerging Neighbourhood Plan has been finalised. The Plan includes an allocation of 188 homes for the site.
Prematurity was a view shared by Gareth Evans (Lib Dem, Loxwood). He submitted a statement which recognised the need for housing but felt it should be “plan-led, genuinely sustainable, and reflective of the wishes and priorities of the communities it will affect”.
He added: “The emerging Plan represents the collective efforts of the local community to shape development in a way that balances housing need with infrastructure, environment protection and village character.
“To permit this application before that process has been completed and adopted would undermine the very purpose of neighbourhood planning.”
But officers advised that the new National Planning Policy Framework says there are only two reasons why an application should be refused on grounds of prematurity – neither of which apply in this case.
Committee members raised concerns about the proposed access to the development and the “lack of clarity” from Southern Water about waste-water capacity.
But, knowing that the Neighbourhood Plan would be allocating the site for housing anyway – and that they wouldn’t be able to defend a refusal on appeal – they approved the plans unanimously.
To view the application, log on to publicaccess.chichester.gov.uk and search for 25/01686/OUT.
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