Glasshouses plan must include improved road

The demand was a condition on the planning permission which permitted the massive structures on a Lower Bognor Road farm.

Councillors insisted on the work where the road joins Pagham Road opposite the Royal Oak pub to meet their concerns, and those of nearby residents, when they agreed the glasshouses could be built on Park Farm.

The combined glasshouse area will be 12.42ha. One glasshouse will measure 11.07ha and will include a loading bay. An office building, car parking areas and water storage tanks also form part of the planning application.

The work is necessary to cope with the impact of the predicted 56 extra lorries a day which will be travelling to and from the glasshouses.

It will consist of trimming back or removing an evergreen hedge, trimming back the vegetation within the visibility splays, increasing the high-friction surfacing northwards from the junction on Pagham Road, installing verge marker posts and installing a 'junction left' sign north of the bend.

Arun District Council planning officer Keith Wheway told councillors the improvements were those deemed necessary by county highways officers.

They were the result of six months of talks between the officials and the planning applicant, Brinkman's Nurseries.

Members of Arun's development control committee reluctantly agreed no more could legally be done to improve road conditions to cope with the additional traffic.

Lower Bognor Road currently carries 6,000 two-way daily traffic movements, of which 350 are lorries.

Cllr Ricky Bower said: "I would like to say I don't think the work has gone far enough because that is a very busy junction. But I really don't know how we can apply anything further on this application. I can't see how it can be refused for any other reason.

"I think we have gone as far as we possibly can but I still have reservations about this."

Cllr Jim Brooks stated: "I wish more could be done about the traffic situation."

Cllr Colin Oliver-Redgate commented: "The onus is on county highways, They need to be in constant vigilance of this development and, hopefully, will improve the road as it gets busier."

Concerns about road conditions caused the committee to postpone a decision about the plans last October.

They were reflecting the worries of residents.

They had written 34 individual letters of objection to Arun along with 22 standard letters.

Extra traffic generated by the scheme was the most frequently cited reason for wanting the proposals rejected. Parish councillors from Pagham, Aldwick and North Mundham also raised the same objections.

The junction improvements were one of 18 conditions imposed by the committee to limit the impact of the glasshouses on the surrounding area.

Others included the details of a new road which will link the farm with a newly-straightened section of Lower Bognor Road and divert traffic away from an existing access.

Other issues covered feature a travel plan for staff, lighting controls and drainage systems.

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