Residents’ anger at plans for 225 homes
Bognor Regis residents made their anger felt at a public information event on plans for 225 homes in North Bersted.
Planning permission for the development – which will see 225 dwellings built by Barratt Homes on Nursery Fields in Bersted – was secured in August last year, and the event was intended to keep residents informed and up to date on the shape, nature and layout of the works to take place.
Barratt Homes staff told residents that 30 per cent of the new homes will be affordable, there will be 17 first homes, and some of the properties will be self-build.
They also said that, as part of their investment into the development, the company will invest £1,392,388 into local secondary school provision, £269,198 into a Sixth Form, and £8,758.50 into local fire and rescue services.
Archeological works are set to start at the end of the month, ahead of infrastructural works in February. It’s hoped the sales campaign will start in October, and the first people will have moved into the homes by the end of this year.
Works will take place from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am to 1pm on Saturday – and Barratt Homes staff have made clear they will maintain a regular presence at the site and are wiling to liaise with concerned residents during the build.
Many of the residents who turned out to the meeting, which took place at Chalcraft Village Hall on January 18, echoed the complaints previously made at a public consultation last year: they raised worries regarding traffic congestion on Chalcraft Lane, both during the works and when the new residents are established, as well the capacity of surface water drainage systems given the number and severity of floods in the Bognor Regis area.
Staff at the meeting reiterated Barratt Homes’ belief that surface water drainage should be well managed by the seven hectares of open green space on the site, as well as a number of ponds scattered throughout the development which, they say, will feed surface water off into the drainage system.
Although some residents seemed unconvinced by this response, Barratt Homes staff made clear their desire to continue to work with and reassure those with ongoing concerns.