Communities Against Ford Eco-Town

Why an 'eco-town' at Ford would be a disaster

The wrong location
Arun District Council has already RULED OUT this area for large scale development and rejected previous applications from developers. The eco-town will swallow up the rural villages of Ford, Yapton and Climping.

Destroying greenfield land
87% of the land is GREENFIELD, actively used for agriculture - it is not a brownfield site as claimed. Eventually the whole area could become one large town, concreting over one of the last green spaces on the coast between Peacehaven and Portsmouth.

We don't have the infrastructure
Our roads, schools, hospitals and water supplies are already under huge STRAIN - 5,000+ houses will increase the pressure on local services even further. The proceeds from 5,000 houses will not be enough to pay for necessary improvements such as an A27 Arundel bypass. There will be a HUGE increase in traffic levels through our local area.

Undermining local democracy
The 'eco' town is being imposed by ministers and buraucrats in Whitehall, subverting the normal planning process. We believe that LOCAL PEOPLE SHOULD DECIDE through our elected representatives. It's a question of democracy and accountability.

West Sussex is already building 58,000 houses over the next decade
The 'eco-town' is likely to be ON TOP of these numbers.

An ECO-CON, not an eco-town
Developers had already been promoting a new town at Ford. The new 'eco' label is a CON - pure window dressing. We are told that half of all the new houses
will not use cars. So how will they travel in West Sussex? The plan just won't work.