Plans for new homes in Bersted industrial estate withdrawn

The site, in Heath Place and bordering Ash Grove, is made up of surplus parking and other mixed-use land taking up 0.5 hectares owned by the applicant.

Access into the site is from Ash Grove via an existing road into Heath Place, which the applicant already owns, serving the established commercial space.

Planning officers informed the applicant that the plans would be refused in their current state, due to safety issues with the main access road and a lack of clarity around parking availability after the homes were built, a concern raised by West Sussex County Council as the local highways authority.

A representative writing on behalf of the applicant said: “I agree further work is needed to determine what is an appropriate level of parking for the existing building, but that could be conditional upon the granting of outline approval for the residential development, confident that space is available whatever the outcome.”

Officers were also likely to suggest refusal due to a lack of information around drainage issues and flood risk.

One officer said: “I would expect a significant reduction in the number of units and a major alteration to the layout to avoid an objection on surface water drainage grounds.”

Additionally, WSCC objected as the local education authority, saying a lack of secondary education had been an issue in the area since 2016 and the development would need to pay mitigation costs in the form of a section 106 agreement, between the council and developer.

WSCC said the agreement even then might not suffice.