Chichester Local Plan 2021 - 2039: Proposed Submission
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Chichester Local Plan 2021 - 2039: Proposed Submission
Policy A15 Loxwood
Representation ID: 3827
Received: 23/02/2023
Respondent: Loxwood Society
Legally compliant? Yes
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? Yes
LPC have produced a revised NP with allocated 125 houses in accordance with CDC Preferred approach Local Plan. Submitted to CDC for regulation 14 consultation in Jan 2021. Held due to Water Neutrality. Letter to parish Jan 2022. 5 growth scenarios. Study completion easter 2022 with consultation. Did not happen.
Actual housing numbers 220 + 91= 311 due cut off date of 1/4/21 and unmet allocation in Made NP.
Parish is rural, very poor transport provision and major sewerage issues. Southern Water will not allow any new connections. Loxwood has no post office and shop thus not a Service village.
Policy A15 should be scrapped and Policies H2 and H3 amended to reflect an allocation of 125 houses
The most efficient way forward would be for the housing allocation for Loxwood to be changed back to the Preferred Approach Local Plan allocation of 125 houses and let the Loxwood Neighbourhood Plan proceed to the next stage of the process. A difference of 94 houses between the two allocations will not make much difference to the overall housing allocation for the district.
Policy A15 is not Sound.
The Preferred Approach Local Plan allocated 125 houses in Loxwood. Loxwood Parish Council (LPC) produced a Revised Neighbourhood Plan (NP) based on this allocation. It was Submitted to CDC in December 2021 for Regulation 14 consultation. CDC would not allow NP to proceed due to the Water Neutrality issues.
No consultation or feedback received until the letter to northern parishes dated January 2022 laying out 5 growth scenarios. Results on study promised for easter 2022 together with consultation. This did not happen!
In January 2023, LPC told by CDC via Zoom meeting that Loxwood would be a strategic site with an allocation of 220 houses with a cut-off date of April 2021 for planning consents. Taking into account planning applications granted prior to this date plus unmet allocation in Made NP, actual number of houses is 220 + 91 = 311 houses.
Loxwood is a rural parish with very poor public transport infrastructure, major sewerage infrastructure issues. Southern Water will not allow any new connections until network upgraded. This will take at least 5 to 10 years (southern Water estimate).
Loxwood does not have a post office and shop. Closed September 2022 and thus does not meet CDC definition of Service Village
The Sustainability Appraisal with respect to Loxwood and the allocation of 220 plus houses is weak and does not adequately justify the allocation. It does not address the transport and environmental issues and in fact, any number of houses could be plucked from the narrative.
