7.20
Object
Chichester Local Plan 2021 - 2039: Proposed Submission
Representation ID: 4813
Received: 17/03/2023
Respondent: West Sussex Growers' Association
Legally compliant? Yes
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? Yes
The Government has tasked Growers to grow more home grown produce, increase productivity, reduce food miles and the UK’s reliance on imported food. There is also an increasing need for space to grow plants, shrubs and trees. These aims can be achieved; however, the Horticultural and Food Industries need Local Planning Policies to be in place that enables sustainable development. To this end, more flexibility is needed in the current CDC Local Plan - Horticultural Policy to meet the needs of the Horticultural sector.
Over the coming years, more provision of space for nurseries, high-tech glasshouses, packhouses and reservoirs will be required; however, there will also be an increased need for ancillary development, such as: Vertical Farming Projects, Research & Development Facilities, Alternative Energy Centres, Logistics and Distribution Centres, Engineering and Technical Support Facilities.
The West Sussex Coastal Plain, with its exceptionally high winter light levels and all year round beneficial climate, is the preferred location for horticultural production in the UK.
The Horticultural Industry, concentrated around Chichester and Bognor Regis, generates annual turnover that exceeds £1billion pounds and employs more than 10,000 full time equivalent staff.
The Government has tasked Growers to grow more home grown produce, increase productivity, reduce food miles and the UK’s reliance on imported food. There is also an increasing need for space to grow plants, shrubs and trees. These aims can be achieved; however, the Horticultural and Food Industries need Local Planning Policies to be in place that enables sustainable development. To this end, more flexibility is needed in the current CDC Local Plan - Horticultural Policy to meet the needs of the Horticultural sector.
Object
Chichester Local Plan 2021 - 2039: Proposed Submission
Representation ID: 4961
Received: 17/03/2023
Respondent: Kingsbridge Estates Limited & Landlink Estates Limited
Agent: Savills
Legally compliant? Yes
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? Yes
The proposed expansion of HDAs is welcome. However the council’s current approach to restrictions on co-location of functionally linked businesses and activities within the food park/cluster is impacting on business competitiveness and efficiency.
Modify paragraph to acknowledge that the development requirements of the horticultural industry have evolved over time and these need to be accommodated going forward.
The horticultural policy has remained largely static since over many years and has failed to acknowledge changing working and production trends within the industry.
Whilst the Council’s tradition of supporting the horticultural industry, to the extent that it has and proposes to do in the draft Local Plan, is welcomed, it should be acknowledged that the restrictive policies that have been in place to date have directly obstructed growth in the industry by constraining the ability of the HDAs to accommodate ancillary and functionally-linked land uses that are now essential to realise the growth potential of the food cluster.
The draft Local Plan currently fails to allow for the functionally linked and associated development required to support and maintain the competitiveness of a world-class horticultural cluster.
See Section 4 of the Savills SREBR for further detail.