Chichester Local Plan 2021-2039 - Main Modifications consultation

CDC justified this substantial increase (200% on the initial allocation) on the grounds that development in the southern part of the district was constrained by limitations associated with the A27 and that, in an effort to meet to the Local Plan Inspector’s Summer 2021 directive to leave ‘no stone unturned and to look again’, CDC opted to increase Wisborough Green’s housing allocation. In the event the Planning Inspector dismissed the A27 constraint as a valid justification for redistributing housing growth away from the south of the district. In light of this, WGPC maintains that retaining the allocation of 75 dwellings in Wisborough Green renders the Local Plan unsound, lacks logic, disproportionately adversely affects the controlled growth of Wisborough Green and fervently asks that the figure be reviewed, not least because 75 dwellings constitute 25% of the non-strategic allocation for the whole of the District. Further, the number is predicated on a flawed Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) data and is inconsistent with the findings of CDC’s own Landscape Capacity Study.

WGPC urges that the allocation for Wisborough Green be reduced to ensure the Local Plan is both evidence-based and sustainable.

At the inception of the Local Plan revision, Wisborough Green was allocated 25 dwellings (2018), this was subsequently increased to 40 dwellings (November 2020). This number was taken through the Regulation 14 consultation for the revised Wisborough Green Neighbourhood Plan, following which the process was paused. However, just prior to the commencement of the LP Regulation 19 consultation, WGPC was informed that the allocation had been further increased to 75 dwellings (January 2023). WGPC urges that the allocation for Wisborough Green be reduced to ensure the Local Plan is both evidence-based and sustainable.