Residents consulted about New Salts Farm house plans

Landowners Hyde New Homes held the consultation on Friday and Saturday at Lancing Parish Hall.

Almost 200 residents turned up, a third of those informed about the meeting, and spoke to the developers’ team of architects and engineers about their concerns.

Tom Shaw, development director at Hyde New Homes, said: “On the whole, feedback has been pretty positive. There were some concerns about flood risks and transport, but generally speaking people have said the issues seem to be well worked-through.

“We think the project can make a valuable contribution to the area and help meet the housing shortage.”

The main issue raised was the risk of flooding at the site, which is adjacent to the A259.

To reduce the flood risk at the New Salts Farm site, developers have incorporated water-absorbent ‘blue roofs’ and permeable paving into the housing designs.

They also proposed to extend the current ditch drainage system as a response to concerns from the West Beach Lancing Residents Association.

This comes as the Sussex branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England condemned plans for 600 homes at the nearby New Monks Farm in Lancing due to drainage problems associated with flooding.

The initial phase of the New Salts Farm project would see 49 homes being built, with 455 in total over a seven to ten-year period.

According to feedback forms from residents that attended the consultation, the majority accepted the need for more housing, with a more mixed response to the project itself. More residents were either in support or unsure about the current scheme than were opposed to it.

The developers hope that this feedback will convince Adur District Council to approve their planning application, despite New Salts Farm not being on the local plan.

The local plan will go before a government inspector later this year and identifies various sites and their potential for development.