Decision on 52 new Shoreham homes is deferred

A decision on whether to grant outline planning permission for up to 52 homes on grazing land in Shoreham has been deferred by councillors, who said they required more information before reaching a verdict.
The area earmarked for the building of 52 dwellings south west of the Shoreham flyover. Photo: Google imageThe area earmarked for the building of 52 dwellings south west of the Shoreham flyover. Photo: Google image
The area earmarked for the building of 52 dwellings south west of the Shoreham flyover. Photo: Google image

Adur’s planning committee was told a revised air quality report had been submitted by applicants Cobbetts Developments Ltd just hours before a meeting on Monday (July, 24), held at the Shoreham Centre in Pond Road.

Councillors agreed they wished to consult the report before coming to a decision.

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The application – which would develop a triangle of land bordered by the River Adur to the West, the A27 Shoreham Flyover to the North and Steyning Road to the East – had been recommended for refusal by planning officer Peter Barnett.

At the meeting, he told the committee the development would be harmful to the setting of the natural park, the nearby conservation area and the riverside, and would extend urbanisation.

Speaking against the plan, Eric Cleobury, of the Paddock, said there were several reasons the scheme was ‘not appropriate’.

He said the only entrance to the development would be from the ‘extremely busy’ A283 Steyning Road.

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He also pointed to the lack of a nearby school, doctor surgery, shops, and good public transport options.

Catherine Arnold, speaking on behalf of school campaign group Future Adur Schools Team, said the development would ‘exacerbate’ the problem of school place shortages in Shoreham.

But Robert Thornton, of Cobbett Developments, said none of the objections raised by the planning officer were ‘insurmountable’.

He said the 52 flats and houses, 30 per cent of which would be affordable, would help address the ‘dire shortage of housing in the area’.

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Though the land is not included within the emerging local plan, he described it as ‘half an isolated field on the edge of town’ and one of the ‘least constrained’ areas of land in the district.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Cleobury said it was ‘disappointing’ a decision had not been reached, while Mrs Arnold agreed it was ‘unsatisfactory’.

A decision on a related application to permit the realignment of the flood defence, which is being built adjacent to the field as part of the Adur Tidal Walls project, was also deferred.

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