Southbourne

Faced by a number of applications and appeals in the area as a result of a district-wide housing shortfall, the community sought to take control and renew their Neighbourhood Plan, seeking to direct the quantum of growth to where they felt best.

Having sought to agree with the LPA how much development Southbourne would be required to plan for, the Neighbourhood Plan group invited promoters with land interests to present their ideas and discuss their proposals. Instead of presenting a fixed masterplan, on behalf of the development consortium, some initial ideas were suggested, but with a clear commitment to work collaboratively with the community to co-create the masterplan and proposed development. The Neighbourhood Plan Group selected the land east of Southbourne as their preferred location.

The land was constrained by third party land, the need for a railway crossing and environmental constraints. A developer consortium was established and a technical team appointed. Working collaboratively with the Neighbourhood Plan Group and their advisors, a masterplan was prepared which formed the basis of a draft allocation in the Neighbourhood Plan and progressed to Examination.

Due to the delays to the Local Plan, the Examination required the removal of the allocation until the Local Plan had been adopted, but the aspirations of the community remained to deliver what had been proposed.

Client: Wates Developments / Seaward Properties
Design: Barton Willmore
LPA: Chichester District Council