Lancing farmland ‘will be green lungs for Adur’ as council purchase signed off

At a meeting on Thursday (October 29), councillors agreed unanimously to buy the land at New Salts Farm for £875,000, with another £50,000 set aside to cover fees.

Previous owner Hyde New Homes wanted to build 450 homes on the land, which lies between the A259 and the railway line, but permission was refused due to a flooding risk.

Leader Neil Parkin thanked the developer for agreeing to sell, even though the land could probably have brought more on the open market, adding: “It’s a pair of green lungs for Adur and a place where nobody can build.”

The land will be paid for using money from the imminent multimillion pound sale of the old Adur Civic Centre site, in Shoreham – with Hyde being the council’s preferred bidder.

Plans to build 173 new homes and 1,000 sqm of office space on that site have been delayed due to the pandemic.

Following a question from Catherine Arnold (Lab, Shoreham-by-Sea), Mr Parkin told the meeting that there no plans to install solar panels at New Salts Farm, as the site was not in the right location and not big enough.

Ann Bridges (Con, Widewater) said she was ‘absolutely delighted’ with the decision to buy the land.

Mrs Bridges told councillors she had seen foxes and kestrels in the area – while others had seen red kites, which only tend to venture to the coast in winter.

She added: “The area is not really suitable for housing and now hopefully it will never be developed for that purpose.

“It will remain a green space between Lancing and Shoreham and become a centre for biodiversity and nature.”