Chichester District Council’s planning committee unanimously approved Martin Grant Homes’ outline application for 223 homes at Loxwood Farm Place on 4 November 2026, the Sussex Express reported on Thursday, despite 124 objections.
The scheme sits on agricultural land west of Loxwood, application reference 25/01686/OUT.
Objectors told the council the bid was premature and should wait until Loxwood’s emerging Neighbourhood Plan is finalised. Loxwood Parish Council and Alfold Parish Council joined residents in opposing the outline, alongside 124 written objections. The draft plan already earmarks the same land for housing, but at a lower number of homes than the permission now grants.
Prematurity would not hold
Officers advised that the revised National Planning Policy Framework allows refusal on prematurity grounds for only two reasons, and neither applied here. Members accepted they would not be able to defend a refusal on appeal.
They still questioned the proposed access and the “lack of clarity” from Southern Water on waste-water capacity, as the Sussex Express reported.
Gareth Evans, the Liberal Democrat ward councillor for Loxwood, said housing should be plan-led and reflect community priorities.
“To permit this application before that process has been completed and adopted would undermine the very purpose of neighbourhood planning.”
He said the emerging plan represented local efforts to balance housing need with infrastructure, environment protection and village character.
The plan allocates 188 homes
Loxwood’s emerging Neighbourhood Plan would allocate 188 homes on the site, against 223 in the outline permission now granted. The approved scheme includes 89 affordable homes in a mix of one- to four-bedroom houses, plus space for a café and a children’s nursery.
Loxwood Parish Council and Alfold Parish Council objected, alongside residents who called the site disproportionately large and outside the settlement boundary. Objectors also cited sewerage capacity and pressure on GPs, schools and roads.
Higher prices, scarce new-builds
Land Registry records show homes in Loxwood sold for a median of £700,000 across 25 sales in the 12 months to August 2026.
That median sat £35,000 above Billingshurst, where completed sales recorded a median of £665,000 across 87 sales in the same period.
In that same period Chichester district’s median was £425,000 across 1,617 sales, and England’s was £285,000 across 671,521 sales. New-build sales were 48 of the 1,617 in Chichester and 13,309 of the 671,521 in England. Loxwood recorded none.
Loxwood’s median sale price in calendar 2024 was £615,000 across 75 sales, 44 per cent above £426,000 across 132 sales in 2016.
Outline only, and no date after it
The 4 November decision grants outline permission only. The Sussex Express report gives no date for reserved-matters applications or for completing any section 106 agreement tied to the scheme.