A decision on plans for a 400-home development and a new secondary school at Ford Lane has been deferred for a further month by Arun District Council.
The council’s planning committee unanimously agreed to defer the decision after officers said that more time was required to gain formal advice from drainage consultants.
Proposed plans include up to 400 homes, a new secondary school, sports pitches, a community hub and pedestrian and cycle routes.
Speaking to the committee, planning officer Simon Brooksbank said: “We are asking for a one-month deferral to allow our drainage consultants to properly review this development.”
He added that the extra month would allow the council to consider changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and also give them time to prepare planning conditions and a Section 106 agreement if there was a change in recommendation.
The application has already been deferred multiple times due to outstanding issues needing to be determined.
The most recent officer report confirmed that highways concerns had now been resolved, with West Sussex County Council and National Highways confirming they had no objection to the development. Additionally, the agreement for the transfer of the secondary school land is said to be almost complete.
Despite this, drainage remains a major issue. The council’s engineers said that the site is still “fundamentally deficient” in drainage and flood risk and have maintained their objection. They were not convinced that the new information showed the development’s drainage strategy would work without increasing flood risk.
Officers had previously recommended refusal due to the concerns over drainage being ‘fundamental to the acceptability of the scheme’ and not something that can be fixed by conditions of planning.
The committee will consider the application again in a month.
Chair of the committee, Councillor Simon McDougall said: “I look forward to seeing a full and complete planning application next time.”
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