‘No homes should be approved until we know we can meet water supply peak demands’

We moved to Bognor Regis over ten years ago – we previously lived in Mid Sussex for 37 years.

During that time in Mid Sussex we witnessed the mass building of new estates in and around Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath, and in particular Bolnore village, which has featured much in the press lately, with many homes being without water supply for up to six days.

Many Mid Sussex residents said at the time of these developments that the infrastructure was not being developed sufficiently to support this vast amount of new houses – and in particular the water supply was not being improved enough to give the overall population sufficient reserves to cater for ‘peaks’ in demand.

While I listen to the water supply managers saying that the level of demand is excessive, the current heatwave, the coronavirus pandemic which is asking us to wash our hands more times a day than normal, they are not saying anything about the infrastructure being not able to cope.

Turning to our situation in Bognor Regis, where in particular there is a proposal to build 2,500 houses in our back garden – we back on to Chalcraft Lane – I am convinced that there will be similar problems with water shortage as the water supply in our area is just about coping now, and without considerable investment into water supply.

The warning signs are there for all to see, and I would ask that no development is given permission to build until they can clearly demonstrate that there is adequate provision to supply all services both for existing residents as well as for the proposed newcomers, and that there is sufficient resilience in the supply chain to meet peak demands.

So I would ask that you add your voice to the many to ask questions about these proposed developments in our area, and to get assurances that current residents do not suffer for the sake of future housing projects.