Plans for 223 homes on agricultural land approved
Martin Grant Land/Martin Grant HomesPlans to build 223 homes in a West Sussex village has been approved by Chichester District Council.
The outline application from developer Martin Grant Land, formerly Martin Grant Homes, proposed 24 one-bed, 86 two-bed, 73 three-bed and 40 four-bed homes across the parcels of land at Loxwood Farm Place, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The council's planning committee gave the development, which includes 89 homes classed as affordable and space for a cafe and children's nursery, the greenlight on Wednesday.
The council received 124 objections to the plans, as well as ones from Loxwood Parish Council and Alford Parish Council.
Concerns raised included the site being "disproportionately large" and sitting outside the settlement boundary, the capacity of the sewerage network and the potential pressure on local GPs, schools and roads.
Gareth Evans, who represents Loxwood on the council, submitted a statement which recognised the need for housing but felt it should be "plan-led, genuinely sustainable, and reflective of the wishes and priorities of the communities it will affect".
He argued it should not be approved until Loxwood's emerging Neighbourhood Plan had been finalised, which includes an allocation of 188 homes for the site.
"To permit this application before that process has been completed and adopted would undermine the very purpose of neighbourhood planning," he said.
Officers advised that the new National Planning Policy Framework said there are only two reasons why an application should be refused on grounds of prematurity.
Neither applied in this case, according to the LDRS.
Despite concerns around the proposed access and waste-water capacity, committee members approved the plans unanimously given the Neighbourhood Plan would have allocated housing for the site anyway.
Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.