Council will not delay Local Plan
Chichester District Council said it will not delay the Local Plan process any further nor impose a moratorium on house building in the district – despite a plea from the Harbour Trust to help protect this threatened area.
Replying to questions from the Observer, the council said: “Unless and until the Government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework is published, we must continue to work to the current NPPF.
Due to this and the advanced stage the council has reached in its Local Plan, we do not believe it would be of benefit to delay this process further. If we do, it will put us at risk of further speculative development. By progressing with the plan, we have greater ability to defend ourselves from unplanned development.In the event a revised NPPF is published, the Government has indicated those considered to be at 'an advanced stage of preparation', will be afforded greater protection. Our draft plan is at this point.
We can’t enforce a moratorium on housing development. Under law, developers have the right to submit planning applications, determined within statutory timescales. If not, they have a right of appeal and without properly evidenced grounds for objection we’re likely to be found to have acted unreasonably, with the potential for significant appeal costs awarded against us. No statutory consultee, nor any other relevant agency, has requested a moratorium in respect of wastewater, transport or any other matter and without this, we have no justification for a moratorium.
Chichester Harbour is incredibly important to the council and its residents. We’re taking a proactive approach and working with partners to help protect it from the many challenges it faces, such as nutrient neutrality and climate change. This includes teaming up with more than 40 councils to hold Southern Water to account.
We’re also involved in the Three Harbours Summit and the Chichester Harbour Protection and Recovery of Nature Group to explore how we can improve water quality and conserve, protect and restore wildlife and habitats. The Local Plan will require new development to be nitrate neutral and includes no allocations of land for development within the Chichester Harbour AONB. It will also introduce wildlife corridors.”