Council asks Rolls-royce for more detail on expansion plan
Chichester district councillors have asked for more information about plans to expand the Rolls-royce Motor Cars plant in Westhampnett.
The hybrid application was deferred during a meeting of the planning committee on Wednesday (March 6) after members asked for more information about the way traffic would be routed into and out of the site.
There were two parts to the plans.
The first full application sought permission to erect five buildings on the site for manufacturing and ancillary use. Also to extend and reconfigure the existing buildings and create a new entrance from Roman Road.
The second outline application was for an extension to the main building to deliver multi-storey car parking and for assembly buildings to be erected on the existing Stane Street car park.
While largely in favour of the application from one of the biggest employers in the county, some councillors had concerns about traffic.
Henry Potter (Con, Goodwood) said: “There is no doubt the traffic impact is going to be magnified immensely.”
Mr Potter described how tailbacks already built up on Stane Street as people entered and left the Rolls-royce site. He added: “My concern is the increase in the number of vehicles projected under this proposal.”
Describing the travel assessment submitted by Rollsroyce as ‘completely out of touch’, he raised concerns about plans to instruct service and delivery vehicles to come in from the east via the new entrance and leave to the west via the old one.
Both instructions would mean heavy vehicles having to cut across a lane of traffic to enter and leave the site.
Mr Potter said: “My feeling is that all traffic should come into the factory from the west off of the A27 at Portfield, enter the factory, do whatever it does in there, and then exit out at the proposed new access/exit [so that] traffic’s always turning left.”
He added that this was his only ‘gripe’ about the application and that everything about Rolls Royce ‘reeked of quality’.
The council received 31 letters objecting to the plans and one in support.
Concerns raised included the ‘unacceptable’ diversion of a public right of way, which was an issue also raised by councillors; the decked car park being ‘an eyesore’; traffic issues; and the ‘vandalism of the environment’.
The letter of support felt the diversion and upgrade of the footpath – making it 2m wide and adding 340m to its route – would make it ‘accessible and user friendly’.
The application was deferred. To view the application, log on to publicaccess. chichester.gov.uk and search for 23/01855/FULEIA.