Chichester flats ‘wrong development in wrong location’

The application from 77 Property Ltd asked permission to demolish a house in Lavant Road and replace it with a two-storey block of two and three-bedroom flats.

Described as ‘the wrong development in the wrong location’, it was refused during a virtual meeting of the planning committee, despite officers recommending it for approval.

This was not the first time 77 Property Ltd had applied to develop the site.

In March, an application to build a terrace of four houses was refused by the council and dismissed when an appeal was heard.

The planning inspectorate felt the size, scale, design and layout would result in a cramped and unsympathetic development.

There were similar feelings about this latest proposal.

Wearing his city council hat, Richard Plowman (Lib Dem, Chichester North), said: “This is the wrong development in the wrong location and will lead to further degradation of the street scape, increase the risk of further accidents on the Lavant Road where speeding is a real issue for residents.”

Roy Briscoe (Con, Westbourne) said: “This is a very important northern entry to the city. I feel the scale and bulk will change the street scene considerably.”

The committee agreed to refuse the application on the grounds of overdevelopment and fears the flats would erode the spacious character of the area.

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