Figures on new homes

New figures show that more than one third of new houses in West Sussex are being built on the sites of former homes and their back gardens.

By The Newsroom

Published 15th Jun 2007, 11:01 BST

Updated 7th Jun 2018, 19:04 BST

The government figures showed the Arun district had a 32 per cent increase between 2004 and 2005 in new homes being built on the site of former homes and gardens, or so-called '˜garden grabbing'.

This is where developers buy properties with gardens to replace them with several smaller properties, or, in some cases, whole apartment blocks. In present planning rules, gardens are classified as brownfield sites '“ the same as former industrial and commercial property '“ and are subject to a presumption in favour of development.

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert commented: 'While I am only too aware that there is a shortage of housing locally and that first time buyers and key public service workers increasingly struggle to get their feet on the housing ladder, garden grabbing is not the solution.'

West Sussex