Object
Chichester Local Plan 2021 - 2039: Proposed Submission
Representation ID: 4669
Received: 16/03/2023
Respondent: Alison Laker
Legally compliant? No
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? No
Approved development on Loxwood's boundary areas including Dunsfold new village of 2600 new homes and the ongoing development of the village of Billingshurst will put further pressure on Loxwood's limited infrastructure which is already failing to cope with current levels including surface water run off from the surrounding water catchment area, sewage water and increasingly heavy and fast through traffic on a rural B road which in the centre of our village is one car wide.
The plan mis-represents the functional size of Loxwood referring to it as a 'service town'. How can a rural village with no daily public transport/bus route, no village shop, no capacity for further employment other than the limited existing employers, no services beyond a church, small primary school and GP surgery which services all local villages (including patients from Rudgwick who are moving to Loxwood Surgery because their GP now lives in Cornwall and works from home so is not available for a face-to-face consultation) be called a service town.
There needs to be an honest, transparent and fair assessment of the current and future demands on Loxwood in respect to environmental impact. They have worsened in recent years so it is unrealistic to place greater demand by further development in the village itself.
Loxwood is on the county boundary with Surrey. Just the other side of the boundary there is major development by way of Dunsfold new village with 2600 new homes and associated infrastructure. In Loxwood we have existing issues with surface water drainage and sewage water treatment which are impacted by development in the surrounding area. We also have an increasing issue with heavy traffic using the village as a North/South route which will be increased when Dunsfold village and development in surrounding villages is completed (for example Billinghurst which is a village and still being developed). There is no evidence that the environmental and infrastructure impact of these development plans have been considered in the proposal to allocate a further 220 homes in Loxwood.