Go ahead for homes 30 years in pipeline

Plans for 21 new homes, which have been chugging along since the 1990s, finally reached the end of their journey after being given the nod by Chichester District Council.

During a meeting of the planning committee on Wednesday (July 7), the layout, scale and appearance of Warrendell – a 1.24 hectare patch of land off of Plainwood Close – was agreed, along with landscaping and access to the site.

Permission for the development was first given in 1991, before being submitted for renewal in 1998.

Things stalled after the applicant failed to sign the required section 106 agreement, and it wasn’t until 2018 that outline permission was sought and granted.

Warrendell is certainly an unusual site, dropping several metres from the edge to form a deep bowl with a pond or sink hole in the centre.

Applicant DG Phillips Ltd plans to build the new homes around the outside of the site, with landscaping and planting in the centre.

It will be reached using an existing entrance from Plainwood Close which would lead to a 5m wide internal road, forking into two cul-de-sacs.

Henry Potter (Con, Goodwood) liked the idea of the new homes, saying the undulating landscape would lead to an ‘interesting development seldom seen elsewhere’.

But John-henry Bowden (Ldem, Chichester West) wondered how the council could be sure that there would be no future subsidence. He was told that structural stability would be a matter for building control.

Untouched for years, the site has been left to nature, with wild flowers flourishing – though some clearance work was carried out a few years ago.

While the application included a programme of planting and landscaping, Sarah Sharp (Green, Chichester South) said councillors were being ‘hoodwinked’ if they thought the development would lead to a biodiversity gain.

The application was approved by nine votes to two.

The development will bring good news for two families. Two of the new homes will be classed as affordable and will be offered for sale – at a discount of up to 50 per cent – to people with a local connection.

To view the application, log on to publicaccess. chichester.gov.uk and search for 20/01164/REM

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