86 new homes for Hambrook approved

The former Marshalls plant, next to Nutbourne train station on Broad Road, now has outline permission for 
86 homes.

There is permission for 12, flats with one bedroom, 18 houses with two bedrooms, 49 homes with three bedrooms, and seven homes with four bedrooms. Thirty-five of the homes will be affordable.

As part of the plans the site would also be home to 2,500sqm of B1 business employment use.

Natural England withdrew its 
objection to the plans after measures were put in place as part of the Section 106 agreement to help reduce the number of birds being disturbed in the Fishbourne channel by dogs off their leads.

A dog control order is currently under discussion by Chichester District Council, which if enforced would mean dogs would have to be kept on their 
leads around the Fishbourne channel, 
so as to stop disturbing nesting and feeding birds.

There were a number of objections from residents, and from Chidham 
and Hambrook Parish Council who felt it was unreasonable to increase the number of dwellings in the village of Hambrook by nearly a third.

The parish council felt the number of dwellings should be reduced by 50 per cent, the land should be left to the council for use as allotments, and there should be more parking spaces.

Residents fear it could lead to congestion along Broad Road, which they feel is already used by speeding motorists as a rat run.

There were other complaints about stretching facilities in the area, including the nearby Chidham Primary School.

Marshalls closed the site in May after a decline in the construction industry during the recession.

It had been owned by Marshalls since 1993, but had been a brickworks since after the second world war.