400 homes planned for Toddington

Around 400 homes are proposed for the former Toddington Nurseries site at Worthing Road (the A259), on land already earmarked for development.

A planning application is expected to be submitted to Arun later this year, after a consultation period with residents and the council.

If the proposals are approved, preparatory work will start early next year and the entire development is expected to take around three years to complete.

Developers George Wimpey and Laing Homes are holding an exhibition of the plans to encourage public comments.

They will go on show at the former Body Shop visitor centre at Watersmead Business Park on Friday, October 14, from 3-8pm and Saturday, October 15, from 10am-5pm.

A community helpline has also been set up for residents to ask questions or leave comments '” telephone 020 7491 0991.

Kevin Howlett, of PPS Group, which is organising the exhibition, said: "We are confident that people will be interested in the plans and the aim of the exhibition is to allow residents to express any concerns they may have."

A number of changes would have to be made to the junction of Toddington Lane with the A259 and part of the road may have to be widened.

An increase in the amount of traffic on the already busy A259 is likely to be among residents' concerns, especially if many of the homes are bought by commuters relying on cars to travel to work.

Arun originally proposed a site at Toddington for a new Littlehampton "Parkway" railway station, which could have reduced car journeys, but train companies did not support the idea.

Around 30 per cent of the development is planned to be affordable housing that will appeal to young couples and to the elderly.

The other houses on the site will be of varying sizes to create a community feel. A children's play area, pond, tree planting and other landscaping changes will also be made to enhance the site. However, Mr Howlett said there were no plans for a shop to serve the housing.

Wilf Daggett, of Littlehampton Civic Society, raised concerns about the number of homes planned and the effect they would have on the rest of the community.

Mr Daggett, who lives in nearby Barns Close, said: "The plan to build houses there goes back about 20 years and I've always been against it.

"A proposal to build homes there was opposed by an Arun planning inspector about five years ago. He said the site was too far away from the centre of Littlehampton and was cut off by the Worthing road.

"It's a most unsuitable site for a large number of houses because of the lack of immediate infrastructure. People will need a car to get anywhere. It's just about walking distance from the town but not many people would want to walk that far."