More polytunnels would mean more soft fruit at a Colworth farm

Colworth Manor Farm, Colworth Lane, has submitted an application to Arun District Council, stating fruit grown on the Chichester plain is considered some of the best available in the UK.

A planning, design and access statement by Douglas Briggs Partnership said the site is north east of the A259 and the applicants are tenants of the Church Commissioners for England.

"Polytunnels will be erected to maintain the crop rotation that is an essential long term agricultural requirement," it said.

"The growing of soft fruit in polytunnels has been thriving on this farm and others close by for some time."

The statement said the West Bersted Strategic Development Location removes 24.88ha of polytunnels from production on Jack's Dyke and Drewitts fields and the proposed polytunnels will provide 11.2ha of protected crop area to 'replace part of this loss and allow the farm to continue to meet the needs of the applicant's customers (their supermarkets and their customers)'.

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"The agricultural land at Colworth Manor Farm has previously been used for intensive salad crop production and its appearance is very much that of modern efficient working farmland," the statement said.

"Polytunnels on the holding to the north and east of the site have already been considered acceptable.

"Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries are grown within the reserved area which is to be enlarged to reflect the indicated market demand that the applicants can now forecast more accurately following a series of successful seasons."

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Go to Arun’s planning portal and use the search reference BE/106/22/PL.