Residents speak out against plans for 170 homes in Yapton

Alongside the new homes, the plans make provisions for parking, access and communal open space, a play space for children, ecology areas for wildlife, attenuation ponds and associated landscaping work. The proposals represent a departure from the development plan for the area.

The company responsible for the plans is BoKlok Homes, which also own a number of other developments in West Sussex, including BoKlok by the Park, in Fitzalan Road, Littlehampton. BoKlok, which represents a partnership between Swedish construction company Skansa and flat-pack furniture sellers Ikea, claim to build affordable homes with minimal environmental impact.

Residents nonetheless feel the development, if approved, could have a detrimental impact on Yapton’s infrastructure, wildlife and rural character.

"Yapton can’t continually sustain all this extra housing,” one objection says. “It’s impossible to get a doctors appointment as it is! Let alone find a dentist. The traffic is increasingly worse and quite frankly dangerous (...) It will only get worse with the influx of new residents that this development will bring.”

"Yapton is becoming an overdeveloped village with fields being concreted all over on roads in and out of the village,” another objection says.

Other residents expressed similar concerns about the loss of greenspace, an overloaded drainage system, and a sense the Scandinavian design of the homes are not keeping with Yapton’s rural character.

Responses to the plans after a public consultation in March varied, and a community engagement statement published by BoKlok Homes said many residents raised concerns similar to those expressed above. In response, they said they are working with Arun District Council and West Sussex County Council to understand the capacity of local schools, doctors services and roads.

Speaking to Sussex World, Anna Harper, Planning Manager at BoKlok UK, said: “The proposals we are developing for Bilsham Road are based on an ethos of providing high-quality, community-focussed sustainable housing. We are delivering a new community of 112 much-needed sustainable homes elsewhere in the District; and so are delighted to be bringing forward our second modular housing scheme in Arun. We appreciate the feedback received during our local consultation so far and would welcome further comments during this process.”

Find the plans on the Arun District Planning portal ref: Y/52/23/PL