Bognor Regis Herald: Oh Cluck! New homes chicken comes home to roost in Arun

Jan Cosgrove
Jul 23, 2017 · 2 min read

by Jan Cosgrove

The decision by the Planning Inspector to overturn Arun’s refusal to grant planning application for 400 homes at Fontwell. Read more at: http://www.bognor.co.uk/news/localism-dead-as-dust-settles-on-fontwell-homes-decision-1-8064394

This outcome from the inspector can squarely be placed on the long-standing habit of those with homes, playing to the indolent Arun District Councillors, scared of infuriating the nimby tendency, to oppose any new housing near their we’re-very-comfy-thanks homes.

So Arun muffs its Local Plan, fails to build the 6000 affordable homes its own consultant told it needed building by 2011, rejects the Ford eco-Town, in the cynical belief that if you say No long enough the nasty new homes will go away and be built anywhere else.

The chicken has come home to roost and is laying some pretty stinking eggs as communities find themselves dumped with what will often/mainly be inappropriate development with Arun forced now to stand by until/unless it gets its act together.

Which cannot mean status quo, back to how we used to get away with ignoring real housing NEED, That need is NOT for 4/5 bedroom houses at prices no one in need can dream of and private rents through the roof. Until governments tackle the inflated price of housing at root, private development for profit will not tackle the issue.

Arun smugly announced it is building THIRTY Council houses, 2 in Bognor, for the first time in (consult Methuselah) — BUT they don’t remind us how many were sold under ‘right-to-buy leaving us with a growing, inevitable crisis which was fuelled, after all, by Thatcher’s meme that council house tenants vote Labour. The property-owning democracy, remember????

Yes, build council houses, LOTS of them, until the NEED is addressed, ALL communities to take their fair share and not devise every excuse to dump the problem, and the misery caused by lack of a decent home elsewhere.

Also, parish councils — MEMO: look at the approach, decent and ethical, being explored by Tangmere. Address need not profit or selfish exclusion. [Question, ?rhetorical? if all housing applications were mainly council house building for need, would the Usual Suspects with nice homes in the area say “oh yes, that’s fair, we need to be socially responsible and accept our share of meeting national need, there are maybe empty homes in Wigan, but let’s address the needs of people who are living an working here”]

Councillor “Empty Homes in Wigan” Bower has departed from the role of uber-housing-build-furhrer at Arun, none too soon, but I honestly cannot see the goose-step changing its feathers. The time when it could duck and dive on this issue has run out. Time to revisit Ford.

Read more at: http://www.bognor.co.uk/news/localism-dead-as-dust-settles-on-fontwell-homes-decision-1-8064394

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade