Chichester Harbour Trust worries future housing will ‘irretrievably’ damage conservation area

Plans for hundreds of new homes on the edge of the Chichester Harbour area will have an ‘irretrievable detrimental impact’ on the conservation area, according to Chichester Harbour Trust.
112144_AERIALS_21/06/11

Aerial view of Bosham.
 
Picture: Allan Hutchings (112144-472)112144_AERIALS_21/06/11

Aerial view of Bosham.
 
Picture: Allan Hutchings (112144-472)
112144_AERIALS_21/06/11 Aerial view of Bosham. Picture: Allan Hutchings (112144-472)

The comments were published as part of an ongoing public consultation on Chichester District Council’s Local Plan Preferred Approach document, which sets out plans to build 650 homes a year in the district up to 2035.

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Residents can comment on the Local Plan Review until this Thursday (February 7).

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Posting on its website, the trust said it was worried about the possible impact of policies in the plan on the harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Of particular concern was a plan for employment land, 100 homes and a new link road on land at Apuldram.

The harbour also gave concerns about policies for a minimum of 250 homes at Highgrove Farm, Bosham, 250 houses at Fishbourne, 500 houses at Chidham and Hambrook and 1,250 houses at Southbourne.

Responding to the Local Plan Review, Chichester Harbour Trust wrote: “Our concerns are that the Local Plan will cause:

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· An irretrievable detrimental impact on the landscape character, context and setting of the AONB and National Park

· Coalescence between settlements between Chichester and Emsworth along the A259 corridor

· The loss of key landscape views from the AONB towards Chichester Cathedral at Apuldram

· The further deterioration in water quality leading to the downgrading of Chichester Harbour’s SSSI status

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· Increased disruption to internally important migrating birds that may not be effectively mitigated as part of the Bird Aware scheme

Consultation ends on Thursday February 7 on the Local Plan Review.