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Chichester housing blueprint is on hold
A council review outlining possible sites for hundreds of new homes in and around Chichester has been put on hold.
Chichester District Council was supposed to be delivering a strategy in the coming weeks outlining how it wants the city to develop and where new homes should go.
The South East Plan requires the council to plan for 9,600 new homes by 2026. The majority – more than 7,000 – in and around the city.
But long-terms plans have been put on hold because of uncertainty over the A27 Chichester bypass.
The Highways Agency has unveiled plans for a major upgrade of the A27 at Chichester to reduce congestion, but the scheme could now take years to come to fruition because of lack of funds.
Council chiefs fear the agency could refuse to support any new developments because of the impact it could have on the bypass.
The Environment Agency has advised that the limit to the amount of treated sewage that can be discharged into Chichester Harbour is close to being reached, meaning it is likely to refuse plans for any new homes.
Council leader Councillor Myles Cullen said: 'It is extremely disappointing and frustrating that we appear unable at the present time to progress our planning policies for the district.
'On the one hand we are directed to find sites for almost 10,000 new homes, while at the same time being advised that there are potential "showstoppers" to us being able to do so.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
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Wind direction: North west
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