Detailed plans for 300 new Yapton homes approved

During an Arun District Council planning committee meeting on Wednesday (October 27), plans for the site to the east of Drove Lane were approved conditionally. Barratt David Wilson (Southern Counties) wants to build the new homes, 400 metres west of Yapton village, on agricultural land. The site was identified as part of a strategic location for up to 550 homes in the Arun Local Plan. A second site, adjacent to this, would deliver up to 250 homes (Y/91/17/OUT). Permission for up to 300 homes, a link road, drainage, open space and landscaping was granted in principle back in 2019 (outline permission). But now, further details on landscaping, the layout of the development, its scale, and its appearance have been approved. Housing will include a mix of 17 one-beds, 83 two-beds, 126 three-beds, and 74 four-beds. At least 30 per cent of these will be affordable – a total of 90 dwellings – with some rented and some having shared ownership. Most houses will be two-storeys high with four blocks of two-and-a -half-storey maisonettes. There will be a variety of detached, semi-detached, flats and other properties. At least 674 parking spaces and 76 visitor spaces will be included which the highways authority said was in line with Arun’s standards. A previous ‘reserved matters’ application for these details was refused in December last year (Y/78/20/RES). This was because of reservations over the amount of public and open space; private amenity space for flats; affordable housing being ‘clustered’ together; ‘insufficient’ details on sustainable transport measures; and the impact of the new builds on existing housing, among other reasons. Since then, the developer has made several changes which council planning officers said made the new homes acceptable. For example, areas of open space have been increased, including outdoor space for the affordable houses. Placing affordable housing in clusters does not go against Arun’s planning policies, says the developer, but these houses have now been relocated to different areas. The proximity to existing homes has also been addressed as some of the planned homes have been moved slightly to the west. Sustainable transport will now be improved after the introduction of a cycle path which would connect to Drove Lane and link with a path at the site entrance – Cycle storage would also be provided. Isabel Thurston (Green, Barnham) sought reassurances that the planned ‘active travel route’ to Barnham would be built ‘as soon as possible’. Council officers said that a developer contribution would be made towards this. Five play areas are also included in the new plans. Part of the site is within a conservation area and the developer says that: “Great care has been taken to ensure the proposals respond positively to the setting, character and appearance of the locality and compliment the surrounding heritage assets and conservation area.” The pastoral field, adjacent to Yapton Road, is crossed by the remnants of the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal and the remains of a bridge were found there. It was considered that the benefits of the development would ‘outweigh the harm’ posed to the bridge, which has been labelled as a ‘heritage asset’. Jessica Sparkes, head of planning for Barratt David Wilson Southern Counties, also outlined ecology measures during the meeting which are set to include: bird and bat boxes, badger highways and wild flower planting. “We believe that it will be a great contribution to the village of Yapton,” she said. Yapton Parish Council originally supported the application with conditions, such as the public rights of way being wide enough for all users. A total of nine letters of objection were received over the new plans which highlighted concerns such as harming heritage assets and current plans for the rights of way. The developer will now have to ensure that existing metal fencing around the sheep field is retained and repaired before any of the houses are occupied. More details can be found at the Arun planning portal using reference: Y/49/21/RES.