1. The proposed housing numbers for the village of Birdham are nonsensical! There is no way the area can cope with such an increase and surely CDC can see and understand this! This kind of never-ending growth and development is simply unsustainable.
2. Birdham is a designated Area of Outstanding Beauty and the continuous development of new housing is in direct conflict with this designation which was created to protect the beauty of the area and its wide and varied wildlife.
3. Every new house which is built in the area brings with it the likelihood of an additional two cars on the roads every day. We already have huge traffic problems, particularly first thing in the morning and at the end of the working day, and such an increase in traffic is making the whole area a grid lock, with daily journeys of more than one hour to cover just five miles. Furthermore, the seasonal traffic is fast becoming an environmental issue which cannot be ignored. We would urge the CDC councillors to actually experience the traffic issues for themselves, by travelling from Birdham into Chichester during peak hours – this would enable them to actually see for themselves and understand the increasing traffic chaos which is already affecting local residents and motorists.
4. Foot traffic is also fast becoming a real issue which is also adding to the pressure on the environment and wildlife.
5. The local infrastructure simply cannot be stressed and pressurised any further and it is utterly ludicrous to even contemplate adding to the strain even further.
6. It is also impossible to extend the current education/schooling systems and facilities to cope with the addition of countless more children.
7. And the same goes for services such as drainage and sewage.
8. The Birdham area simply does not have the facilities to handle all this extra pressure – it is already becoming unmanageable.
This area simply CANNOT accommodate more housing and residents and we URGE CDC to have the wisdom and good judgment to not allow any further development which will inevitably destroy this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as well as push our whole community to breaking point.