Executive Summary

Seaward Properties originally applied for outline permission for up to 100 dwellings on the site in 2020. Chichester District Council refused the application on several grounds, including that the applicant could not demonstrate the existing foul sewer network in Bracklesham/Earnley had capacity to meet current demand. Seaward appealed, and the appeal was upheld on 19 August 2022. Seaward then sold the site to Barratt David Wilson Homes.

Foul drainage has since become the principal obstacle to occupation. An application to discharge the foul drainage condition (Condition 22) was refused in 2025, as was a subsequent application to vary the drainage arrangements — which remains under appeal. Southern Water’s position on network capacity has shifted repeatedly since 2021, moving between “insufficient capacity,” partial relaxation, and reversal back to “no capacity” within days, most recently in December 2025.

In March 2026 the developer introduced a Real Time Control (RTC) system — underground storage tanks with automated, delayed discharge — applying for a Certificate of Lawfulness on the basis that it requires no planning permission. A further application now seeks to rely on this system to permit occupation of the dwellings.

Apart from other contentious matters no operational monitoring data has been presented showing when/if the receiving sewer in Clappers Lane has the spare capacity the RTC scheme depends on.

The site remains unoccupied, with the foul drainage question still unresolved pending the Planning Inspectors appeal decision which probably come in July 2026. The Planning Inspector’s decision is awaited as whether or not he will uphold or dismiss the Real Time Controlled discharge (RTC) and temporally on-site storage appeal.

https://manhope.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Clappers-Key_Facts-A5.pdf

20/03125/OUT | 2020 | 100 dwellings, access, landscaping & open space | Refused but allowed on appeal

Submitted by Seaward Properties. Refused by Chichester District Council on several grounds, including foul sewer capacity:

“At the time of decision making on this application the Local Planning Authority does not have the evidence to demonstrate that the existing foul sewer network in this part of Bracklesham/Earnley is capable of meeting the current demands placed on it let alone the additional demands that will be created from a further major housing development along Clappers Lane.”

APP/L3815/W/22/3291160 – Appeal to Planning Inspectorate was upheld by the Inspector but with conditions that had to be satisfied prior to occupation. One such condition (Condition 22) read:

No dwelling hereby permitted shall be occupied until the off-site foul drainage infrastructure necessary to serve the development is operational and it is confirmed in writing by the sewerage undertaker that sufficient sewage capacity exists within the network to accommodate the development.

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23/02916/REM | 2023 | Reserved Matters | Earnley | Approved

Approved the detailed appearance, layout, landscaping and scale of the development, making the scheme substantially capable of being built.

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25/01140/DOC | 2025 | Discharge of Condition 22 (foul drainage) | Refused

Sought to discharge the foul drainage condition. Refused by the council — the first clear sign that drainage capacity had become the critical issue.

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25/02475/OUT | 2025 | Variation of foul drainage arrangements | Refused. Now under appeal

Refused by the council on foul drainage grounds. Now under appeal (as of May 2026), with Southern Water’s evolving position on network capacity a central issue.

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25/02681/OUT | 2025 | Limited occupation before footpath completion condition| Approved

Permitted limited occupation of dwellings ahead of footpath works being finished.

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26/00640/PLD | Mar 2026 | Certificate of Lawfulness — Real Time Control (RTC) sewage system | Pending

Seeks confirmation that an RTC system — underground storage tanks with automated, delayed discharge — can be installed under permitted development rights, without full planning permission. Decision pending the current appeal.

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26/00749/OUT | 2026 | Variation to permit occupation relying on RTC system | Active

Current live application, seeking to rely on the RTC system to allow occupation of the dwellings. Ongoing correspondence between the council and the applicant’s agent through May–June 2026.

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The full planning history can be found at CDC Planning  here https://publicaccess.chichester.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?previousCaseType=Property&keyVal=SVY73CERHMJ00&previousCaseNumber=QL0Z7HER07G00&previousCaseUprn=010094896780&activeTab=summary&previousKeyVal=QL0ZAMER07G00