Plans for 190 homes in Angmering have been submitted for approval to Arun District Council.
The plans are for 190 homes on land west of Bewley Road, with 30 per cent to be affordable housing as required by the council.
This includes a new community building to be occupied by Cancer United, an Angmering based cancer support charity, on land donated to them by the landowner, Tim Longhurst.
In the plans the charity said the building would be a new Centre for Excellence, replacing their existing home at Millfield House on Station Road, Angmering, which they have occupied roughly since 2013.
Cancer United said it had been looking for new premises since 2019 after they had ‘outgrown’ their current premises, and hoped to accommodate for future ‘growth’ and ‘accessibility’ needs if plans are approved.
They said Arun saw a ‘significantly’ higher rate of new cancer cases a year than the rest of England, at 684.8 per 100,000 people to the average of 456 per 100,000, with West Sussex having a ‘generally’ higher number of screening tests than average for bowel, breast and cervical cancers.
A public consultation on the plans held in May and pre-application advice from the council saw the number of homes reduced from 212 to 190, as well as a section of greenspace at the north of the site to be included as new ‘public open space’.
An overall 20 per cent bio-diversity net gain is planned for the development, and existing public rights of way running through the site are to be kept, potentially seeing some ‘enhancement’ where ‘achievable’.
Around 62 responses to the plans have been submitted to the council by Arun and other residents, with some 32 in support of and 30 objecting to the plans.
Many supporters wrote in support of Cancer United and its new community building, citing personal experience with the charity.
One Middleton resident said: “Cancer united have been very good/big support for mine and other people’s cancer recovery journey.
“To have a dedicated space for us to meet, support and exercise together is a wonderful privilege.”
Another resident in Worthing said: “I regularly walk across this land for recreation and know the area well, as I am an active member of Cancer United.
“It has made an enormous impact on hundreds of cancer patients and I am so grateful I lived near this unique charity, which has outgrown its current facilities. I cannot speak too highly of them.”
Supporters also said the charity ‘compliments’ the NHS by providing support to cancer patients the NHS might otherwise struggle to provide, adding the provision of affordable housing and new parkland would also help the area.
Objectors to the plans raised concerns about overdevelopment of the village, traffic congestion, environmental impact, potential flooding, impact on a nearby conservation area, loss of farmland and Bewley Road being an unsuitable access to the site.
An Angmering resident said: “This proposed development is not in the local or neighbourhood plan. The road access is not adequate.
“The infrastructure, such as doctors/schools can barely cope at present and there are inadequate jobs in the area for the residents.
“Angmering has been overdeveloped already and prime agricultural land, such as this, should not be used for housing.”
Two Bewley Road residents said the ‘narrow’ road was in ‘constant use’, adding they already see flooding on their road due to ‘centuries old sewer systems’ and that more homes would further burden this network.
They said: “The doctors in the village are at full capacity already from all the new developments in the area.
“We are both registered disabled and both rely on our doctors regularly due to our many health concerns, and even though it would not mean we’ll lose our place three’s not enough room for another 212 houses.”
Some objectors contested the need for more housing in the district, claiming ‘many’ new build houses had remained empty after being finished, saying the new affordable housing could be ‘unaffordable to local families’.
To view the plans visit https://www.arun.gov.uk/planning-application-search and use the code A/154/24/OUT.
