We would want to see a reduction in the housing allocation to a number that we believe is achievable on what land is available.

The Neighbourhood Plan team of Boxgrove Parish Council wish to contest the allocation of 50 dwellings during the Local Plan duration.

The Local Plan consultation period has not allowed sufficient time for proper local consultation and includes proposals that have never previously been consulted upon.

We do not understand how so many of the sites, previously discounted in the 2018 HELAA, for various reasons, are now designated in the 2021 HELAA as having ‘no known constraints’ to development on the same sites.

Furthermore, out of 11 Service Village Parishes, found to have potential sites for dwellings in 2018, 7 of these now have a zero allocation in the Local Plan. Boxgrove has been allocated 50 dwellings, despite over 50% of Boxgrove’s land area lying within the boundary of the SDNP.

All of the sites identified are outside of the existing Settlement Boundary, and are therefore in ‘The Countryside’, in contravention of your Policy NE10.

The village school is at capacity and there are no known plans to expand it.

There are future capacity issues at the A27 Tangmere roundabout junction and concerns about future short cutting through Boxgrove and the already narrow and winding local roads to the north.

Boxgrove and the village of Halnaker both have Conservation Areas and there are a total of 51 listed buildings and two Scheduled Monuments in the Parish many of which would be affected by development on the sites identified.

The Conservation Area Character Appraisals identify many long views out of the CA’s, which would be compromised by development.

Development would be in contravention of your Policies P9, P10 and P11 of the Local Plan.

All the sites, identified as potentially developable, are on agricultural land. These are either currently farmed, are vineyards or are livery. This land is graded 2 or 3 in contravention of Policy NE2 Natural Landscape.

In conclusion, we believe that the HELAA and the allocation of 50 dwellings for Boxgrove in the Local Plan are unachievable on most of the sites identified. We are sure that a small number of sites for a lower number of dwellings maybe achievable, and intend to consider this as part of the revisions to our Neighbourhood Plan.