U-turn as Rejected Housing Development in Chichester is Given the Go-Ahead

Plans to demolish a bungalow in Loxwood and replace it with 18 homes have been approved after the developer returned with a revised version of a previously rejected scheme.

Plans to demolish a bungalow in Loxwood and replace it with 18 homes have been approved after the developer returned with a revised version of a previously rejected scheme. 

Chichester District Council’s planning committee backed the development at Hawthorne Cottage in Guildford Road on Wednesday, June 10. 

The proposal from Blackonyx Hawthorne Limited includes two one-bedroom bungalows, four two-bedroom houses, nine three-bedroom houses and three four-bedroom homes. 

It will also provide a new road entrance from Guildford Road, parking, landscaping, drainage works, public open space and pedestrian links to nearby footpaths. 

Hawthorne Cottage, its garage and an outbuilding will be demolished to make way for the development. 

The 0.95-hectare site lies on the western edge of Loxwood and currently includes a large garden, paddock and small stable. 

Although it is technically outside the village’s defined settlement boundary, the land sits between relatively recent housing developments to the north and south. 

Planning officers said this meant it was well contained within the existing built-up area and represented a sustainable location for new housing. 

Earlier plans rejected 

It is the latest of several attempts to redevelop the site. 

An application for 18 homes was refused in 2021 because the developer had not demonstrated that the scheme would be water neutral. 

Water neutrality rules were introduced to protect internationally important habitats in the Arun Valley from the effects of increased water use. 

A later proposal for 19 homes was refused by councillors in November 2025. 

The reasons included concerns about the proposed mix of homes, roofing materials, insufficient mitigation to protect bats connected with the Ebernoe Common conservation area, and the absence of a completed Section 106 legal agreement. 

That decision is currently the subject of an appeal. 

However, the developer submitted a fresh application with the number of homes reduced from 19 to 18 and several elements of the design amended. 

Planning officers said the new scheme included a more appropriate housing mix, revised roofing materials and additional measures intended to protect bats. 

Ecological buffers measuring about 10 metres are planned around parts of the site, together with habitat improvements and a biodiversity net gain of more than 10%. 

No affordable homes on the site 

All 18 properties will be sold on the open market, with no affordable homes provided within the development. 

The developer submitted a financial viability assessment arguing that providing affordable housing on the site would make the scheme unviable. 

Instead, Blackonyx Hawthorne Limited is expected to pay £35,000 towards affordable housing elsewhere in the district through a Section 106 agreement. 

Councillor Hannah Burton said it was encouraging to see a proposal return after refusal with many of the committee’s previous concerns addressed. 

She described it as a sensible infill development in a village where additional homes would be needed. 

Housing benefits judged to outweigh policy conflict 

Council officers acknowledged that the development conflicts with planning policy because it sits outside Loxwood’s settlement boundary. 

However, they said the delivery of 17 additional homes — once the existing bungalow is taken into account — should carry substantial weight in the planning decision. 

The council is expected to face tougher national requirements when calculating whether it has enough land available for future housing from July 2026. 

Officers said the application had been submitted in full and recommended that work should begin within 18 months, helping the homes contribute to the district’s housing supply relatively quickly. 

The scheme was considered to comply broadly with other planning policies, despite its countryside location. 

Councillors concluded that the housing, ecological and financial contributions offered by the development outweighed the conflict with the council’s development strategy. 

Planning permission is subject to the completion of the Section 106 legal agreement and a series of planning conditions. 

Plans to demolish Hawthorne Cottage in Loxwood and replace it with 18 homes have been approved by Chichester District Council. Image: Blackonyx Hawthorne Ltd