49 homes refused in Nutbourne

Concerns about safety on the road and at a level crossing have seen plans to build up to 49 homes in Nutbourne refused.

The outline application from Metis Homes Ltd, for land east of Inlands Road and south of the railway line, was given the thumbs-down by by Chichester District Council’s planning committee on Wednesday (June 11).

The committee had deferred the plans during a meeting on May 7 so that they could ask West Sussex Highways for more information relating to road safety.

While assurances were given that the site had been assessed by a ‘professional and highly experienced’ transport consultancy and reviewed by highway experts at the county council, members were still not happy.

They refused the application by seven votes to two, against the advice of planning officers, with safety firmly at the top of their list of concerns.

Network Rail described the level crossing as ‘high risk’ and criticised Metis Homes for not engaging with them earlier. While raising no actual objection to the development, the public body said nothing could be done to minimise the safety risks, though it would monitor what impact of the new homes on the crossing.

This did not sit well with some of the committee.

Hannah Burton (Lib Dem, Midhurst) said it felt like Network Rail was ‘washing their hands of it’, describing their comments as ‘a big, fat no’ when it came to safety on the crossing.

And Henry Potter (Con, Goodwood) pointed out that if the impact on the crossing was negative, it would be too late to do anything about it as the homes would have been built.

The narrowness of Inlands Road remained a point of concern for the committee, especially given the possibility of traffic jams as vehicles trying to go to and from the new homes were held up when the level crossing barriers were down.

The plans were refused on three grounds: highway safety concerns due to the increased use of Inlands Road, which has no footpath in places; an increased risk to public safety on the level crossing; and the lack of a signed Section 106 legal agreement.

To view the application, log on to publicaccess.chichester.gov.uk and search for 24/01161/OUTEIA.