Planning and Local Democracy

Introduction

The County Councillor's job involves making sure that the services which should be provided by the County Council are delivered efficiently and promptly to council tax payers.

If you have a complaint or a point you'd like to make to Mark, use this reply facility Your comments will be addressed personally and may well form the starting point for future debates on this site. See also WSCC Environment and Planning Section.

Planning Authorities

As a broad generalisation there are four Planning Authorities who have influence over the future of our Parishes. It is one of The County Councillor's duties to keep abreast of planning matters, and help residents of the Bourne Division to get their feelings across to the authorities. Ring me on 01243 535202 if you need my advice, or if you want to get a point made.

Parish Councils. Chidham, Southbourne, Westbourne, Stoughton, Compton & West Marden and East Marden, all have efficient and effective parish councils. They are always consulted on development Control matters. They are highly effective, too. Please support them: the Parish Councillors need to be kept closely in touch with local issues.

Chichester District: accessible and approachable, but rather too much under the thumb of the dreaded Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, ODPM. The CDC website will help you get your views across, as will your Parish Council and the CDC members.

West Sussex County Council: has more strategic influence, but is not able to counteract political direction coming down from ODPM, especially on the numbers of new houses which - effectively - have to be fitted in. WSCC produce the County Plan, which can be accessed via the WSCC website.

South Downs Conservation Board - probably soon to become South Downs National Park Authority, which has considerable influence over CDC and WSCC on the details of what is, and is not, acceptable in The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty so far as new building and alterations and extensions are concerned. Chichester Harbour Conservancy plays a similar role for the harbour and harbour fringe.

Government Office of the South East - in Guildford, who issue guidance - which usually has to be followed by WSCC and CDC, and the Department of the Environment, who are even higher up the ladder. Contact with these authorities is usually made via WSCC, and CDC.

"On a strategic level our Parishes in the Bourne County Council division fall into two types. The extreme rural ones in the North, which are all in the Downs proper, where any development is very strictly controlled, and the larger parishes of Westbourne, Southbourne and Chidham, which are under great development pressure, and where in my view, development is not strictly controlled enough. The process of forming a National Park, which will take over a lot of the planning work from CDC and WSCC, in the area designated, is underway. In my view a park which protects the very rural downland is quite desirable, but it shouldn't include towns like Petersfield, Midhurst and Petworth. The real danger is another level of Government with an attendant need to raise taxes to pay for more public employees. We have too many already ! "