I write this email to object to the planning application by David Wilson Homes on Highgrove Farm, Broadbridge, Bosham on the following grounds:

1) The proposed development would go against the stated wishes of the people of Bosham as documented in the consultation documents for the draft Neighbourhood Plan, in which Highgrove Farm was viewed as the least desirable site for development in the parish. To build here therefore, would be a negation of local democracy and an insult to a population that worked hard to select appropriate locations for house-building within the parish.

2) There remain within the parish, brownfield sites which should be prioritised for any necessary house building, before any greenfield sites (especially grades 1 and 2 agricultural land) are considered. Examples being the disused, decaying Burnes shipyard and Bullock Barns just off the A259. Permitting the current application would be a clear, unambiguous statement that Chichester District Council prioritises the desire of developers to maximise profits (by minimising the cost of construction incurred in having to clear brownfield sites), above the needs of local communities and the environment.

3) Building on Highgrove would lead to a diminution of the strategic gap betwween Bosham and Fishbourne an outcome opposed by the residents of both communities and indeed an outcome opposed by Chichester District Council itself as can be seen in the Bosham Village Design Statement adopted by the CDC in December 2011. ("This designation envelops both the Broadbridge settlement policy area (SPA) and the Bosham SPA to its north and east and is intended to prevent the coalescence of existing settlements into a continuous urban sprawl".)

4) The number of dwellings proposed and the nature of their design (town houses in a single estate) are not suitable for a rural development, especially one that is sited between a national park to the north and an AONB to the south, especially when the options for more suitable developments exist in the parish.

I sincerely hope that Chichester District Council will not approve this completely unsuitable application on a site rejected by the people of Bosham. Bosham has shown itself willing to allocate land for the building of new homes within the parish. The location and nature of new construction should always take place with the consent and support of the people who live and love the communities of which they are part, and any level of government which claims to be 'representative' should not ride roughshod over the needs and opinion of those communities as Chichester District Council would certainly be doing if this application is approved.