Multi-million pound plans for a new housing development on part of Tangmere's famous Battle of Britain airfield have won approval from Chichester district councillors.
Three former aircraft hangars built in the 1950s for Meteor and Hawker Hunter fighters will be swept away, along with some other old RAF buildings, to make way for 160 homes.
In more recent years, the massive hangars were used to store huge quanti
ties of crops from the European 'grain mountain'.
Proposals put forward by Skellern Ltd were given the go-ahead by the district council's southern area development control committee, subject to the completion of a formal legal agreement. Voting was 9-3 in favour.
The scheme, which affects nearly 4.5 hectares of land, will also have to be automatically referred to Whitehall for a rubber-stamp approval, as it is a departure from the local development plan.
There was opposition from Tangmere Parish Council, which said it was against 'piecemeal development' of major individual sites, particularly those like this, which was outside the village settlement area.
The parish council and local residents also expressed concern about traffic congestion, pollution and road safety implications for the village generally, and for an A27 roundabout.
District councillors were told the developers had offered 0.12 of a hectare on the site for community use.
Recommending approval, planning officers said this was an 'efficient and effective' use of a brownfield site, in line with government policy.
The scheme addressed the district council's land supply shortfall in a way which did not prejudice the future planned growth of the village.
Tangmere representative Cllr Chris Punnett supported the parish council's view that the area should be developed in conjunction with a large adjoining concrete area, owned by West Sussex County Council.
He said this would give the possibility of a larger development and greater flexibility on layout and design, as well as maximising community benefits.
A total of 160 homes on this site meant more than 300 vehicles trying to access Meadow Way, which was a rat-run.
Cllr Punnett moved refusal of the application, but this was defeated by 5-4.
Cllr John Connor said the development would make the local traffic situation a lot worse, and Cllr Pieter Montyn said it would mean a car every ten seconds wanting to use the access from the site in the rush hour.
But the committee was told there were no objections on traffic grounds from either the county council or the highways agency.
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The full article contains 489 words and appears in OS-Chichester Observer newspaper.
