Plan for 26 homes between Bosham and Nutbourne will go ahead after appeal

Proposed access to the site off the A259 Main Road

A development of 26 homes on the site of a nursery between Bosham and Nutbourne has been given the green light at appeal.

Developers now have permission to build the homes north of the A259 at Chas Wood Nurseries, Main Road, after the appeal brought by Grand Holdings against Chichester District Council was successful, it was revealed yesterday (October 17).

The scheme is set to deliver eight affordable homes with a local occupancy clause, public open space and a community orchard.

Chichester District Council turned down the plans in March 2022 on the grounds it was in an unsuitable location, with one councillor, David Rodgers (LDem, Harbour Villages) saying the area between the harbour area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) and national park ‘should not become a linear housing estate’.

Issues in the appeal included: whether the appeal site is an appropriate location for the proposal; the accessibility of services and facilities; and the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area.

Planning inspector Graham Chamberlain concluded that there were enough facilities in the area, with local garage nearby and a village hall, pub and primary school within 800km of the site. He added that ‘there are several bus stops which provide access to a regular east west service that includes Chichester and other settlements’, as well as a railway station within a mile and a cycle path on the A259.

But he did agree with the council that the plans were ‘at odds with the spatial strategy in the development plan’, which has a strategy is to deliver most of the housing provision at the largest settlements in the district. Because the site in question was outside of a defined settlement boundary, development is restricted in these areas, which are considered countryside locations.

However, Mr Chamberlain found that the adverse impacts of the proposal ‘would not significantly outweigh the benefits’.

He said: “The appeal scheme would deliver twenty-six new homes which would be a useful contribution towards housing supply. This housing would be within a settlement and would therefore be provided without any meaningful harm to the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside.”