Plans to build 138 new homes have been approved. The outline application from Homes England on land east of Tinsley Lane, Crawley, was given the nod by Crawley Borough Council’s planning committee on Tuesday (October 14). The council’s Local Plan has allocated the site for 120 homes. A similar application for 150 homes was refused by the council in 2020 on grounds of density, and unacceptable harm to the amenity of Birch Lea – a cul-de-sac which would be used as an access road. Objectors raised a number of issues with the committee, including concerns that the development would “destroy one of the few remaining pockets of natural habitat” in the area – home to bats, deer, hedgehogs and the like. The development will see Oakwood FC’s facilities demolished, and new ones, including a full-size artificial pitch, a junior grass pitch, a clubhouse, floodlights and fencing, provided. While the football club supported the original application, a change of management saw it strongly object to the latest one, saying the two pitches would not be enough to meet the needs of the growing club. Ian Miller, chairman of the Tinsley Lane Residents’ Association, questioned whether changes to the application could be made following the government’s announcement
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