The threat of development in the Goring Gap is greater than at any other time.

There is no way that the vast quantity of houses required by the latest plans can be built on brownfield land in West Sussex. We do not have that much brownfield land. If the extra houses cannot be built on brownfield land, the next target is to build them on the edge of existing towns and villages. In other words, to build over green land such as the Goring Gap.

Goring Gap from the Sea Wall - Green all the way to the Downs

Current Activity

We have made an application for a small amount of Millennium funding. This will cover immediate expenses, production of a leaflet, arranging for distribution of this in Goring and Ferring, and holding of meeting of volunteers in September or October.

Goring Gap from Highdown - green to the sea wall, except for a few houses along the railway line.

Background and History

The idea is that there should be a little grass and trees between the villages along the south coast. Otherwise it gets to be a solid mass of buildings from Hastings to Portsmouth.

The history of the Gap started in 1934 when Hesketh Estates of Southport bought Goring Hall from the Lyons family. On 1st Ausust 1935 WBC paid £18,000 for three parcels of land; the greensward along the sea wall from the Sea Lane Cafe to Sea Lane Ferring, the cricket ground behind the Bull Inn, and the Plantation.

At the same time, Hesketh made a gift of the Ilex Avenue to WBC for public recreation, these two associated areas are now managed by WBC and their tree officer Peter Whish.

Development of the land East of the Plantation started, but in 1945 WBC refused planning permission for the land in the current Gap, after three roads had been built, and gave Hesketh £33,250 compensation. As a result of the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, the Development Land Commission gave Hesketh £87,000.

The land was sold on to a series of developers including Gallifords who held it for many years, and in the mid-90's to Prowtings Developments who own it now. Paul Langmede rents the land from Prowtings and farms it; it is Grade II agricultural land. Four small areas along the sea end of the Gap are owned by other people as 'hostage strips', and are mostly left uncultivated.

WSCC has been very succesful in preventing development in the Strategic Gaps; the areas of countryside which prevent towns and villages from merging. The first gaps where defined in the 1960s to protect the remaining areas of coastline at Ferring, Climping, Pagham, and Sompting. There are now 22 Gaps in West Sussex, for a total area of 22,285 hectares. Since 1970 only 1% of the defined land has been lost.

All the villages started off with these strategic gaps. And in every village, the builders are, all the time, encroaching. As the plans stand at the moment: SERPLAN said .75 million houses in West Sussex, the Crow report said 1.2 million, Prescott has decided on a compromise figure of .9 million. Even the lesser figure is going to creat great damage, even if Worthing gets stuck with only 800 at West Durrington.

The Goring Gap was described by one planning officer as 'a glorious oasis in a sea of development.

What is in the picture and the map

Between Ilex Way and the sea are fields of corn. There were going to be houses here as part of the Goring Hall development and some roads were built. Good sense prevailed, and the houses at Goring stopped at the Plantation. Goring Hall is to the right of the picture and is now a private hospital, with some public playing fields.

Threats to the Gap

As an additional problem in the past has been that the roads in the Gap near the sea were occupied by travellers about twice a year, usually staying about 10 days, and causing considerable aggravation. The roads have now been restricted with height barriers, and are now used by dog walkers and learner drivers.

To the north of the railway up to the Littlehampton Road and Highdown are fields known locally as the cabbage patch. It is this area, the 39 acres between the Ferring Rife (river) and the railway, which Worthing Council wished to allow for factory development. This has now been quashed, at least for the time being. It remains under threat for housing, particularly at the Ferring side

To the north of the A259 is Highdown and the famous chalk gardens, which are protected, but further north up Titnore Lane the West Durrington housing development of 800 homes is planned.