Secondary school plan for Ford is refused

An application to change the ue of land to the north of the towpath, south and east of Church Farm, was greeted with a wealth of objections from the land owner, residents, parish councils Sustrans and Bognor Regis Cycling Forum.

Their concerns included the high level of development already in the area, access, the loss of high quality and productive agricultural land, unsustainable vehicle movements, the protected canal route and the loss of the strategic gap between Ford and Climping.

The council’s decision notice said: “The site is outside the built up area boundary in an area recognised for its intrinsic character and beauty and based on the limited information submitted and lack of justification/allocation the educational use of part of the site would adversely affect the rural character of the area.

“The proposal results in unacceptable loss of high grade agricultural land .

“The proposal fails to demonstrate educational use of this site in this location would be acceptable.

“Insufficient information has been submitted to enable the Local Planning Authority to assess the impact of the educational use proposed.

“The proposal fails to demonstrate that a safe and suitable access to the site for all users can be achieved.”