New development a travesty for village - campaigners

Residents of Bewley Road in Angmering have sent more than 1,700 letters of objection

Campaigners in West Sussex have said they urgently need to raise funds to fight an appeal by housing developers.

Campaign group Protect Farmland of West Bewley Road are fighting to prevent developers from building 190 homes on a development in Angmering.

The application was rejected by Arun District Council in June despite it being recommended for approval, while more than 1,700 letters of objection have been sent.

Developer Gleeson Homes said: "We will not be making any further comments until the final decision, following the formal Public Inquiry procedure, has been made."

Angela Colliss, head of Protect Farmland of West Bewley Road, said the proposed development would be a "travesty".

"Every aspect is struggling. The high school is full, the doctor's surgery has got 29,000 patients, so it's a perfect storm," she said.

Ms Colliss said that a sizeable number of the objections had come from residents of neighbouring villages, which were closer to Angmering now due to "overdevelopment".

According to the proposal, the new homes would be accessed via Bewley Road. Campaigners believe that would be an issue.

"This development would bring in 500 to 600 people, in 300-plus cars, they would all be going through an extremely narrow, single access," Ms Colliss added.

While she accepted the need for housing, the campaigner was unequivocal in her view that the scheme would produce "the wrong type of houses, in the wrong place".

Worthing West MP, Dr Beccy Cooper, previously signalled her opposition to the scheme and congratulated campaigners on social media when the application was refused.

Gleeson Homes immediately announced its intention to appeal the refusal, with the appeal hearing expected to take place in October.

The council has been approached for comment.