Meet OAN
Allocate more sites in North of the Plan area.

We acknowledge that Chichester District Council is positively attempting to address housing need within the District. However, we object to the proposed plan area total of 10,359 and seek to point out that this figure is too low when compared to the data provided within the HEDNA (April 2022). Ultimately, the Council should be meeting the objectively assessed housing need of 638 dwellings per annum.
The supporting text for Policy H1 reads:
‘constraints, particularly the capacity of the A27 has led to the council planning for a housing requirement below the need derived from the standard method, of 535 dpa in the southern plan area and a further 40 dpa in the northern plan area, a total supply of 10,350 dwellings over the plan period from 2021 – 2039.’
Whilst we acknowledge the constraints of the A27 to the Southern Plan Area, these constraints are not as limiting in the North of the Plan Area, to justify a housing supply of 40 dwellings per annum (679 total).
It is therefore considered that a higher number of dwellings should be allocated to the North of the Plan Area, by increasing the settlement boundary of sustainable settlements such as Loxwood and Kirdford, in order to help the District achieve the objectively assessed housing need of the district.
Loxwood, in particular, is a highly sustainable settlement that the Draft Local Plan has allocated a minimum of 220 dwellings (Policy H2 – Strategic Locations / Allocations) over the plan period. Loxwood is a ‘service village’ that has been recognised by the Council to be a highly sustainable, with sufficient services and facilities, including a school, GP surgery and is well served by public transport. Within the Sustainability Appraisal (January 2023), the highest growth scenario allowed for 1,050 dwellings in Loxwood, with the middle scenario allowing 450 dwellings.
As such, there is significant capacity for allocations within Loxwood and a greater housing provision of a minimum of 300 dwellings, should be provided, based on the findings of the Sustaianbility Appraisal, in order for Chichester to meet the objectively assessed housing need (OAHN).
We argue that to prepare a ‘justified’, ‘effective’ and ‘consistent’ Local Plan, the District needs to increase the housing provision of the North of the Plan Area, through the specific allocation of sites at a District level.