Residents have voiced their frustrations after a public inquiry on 475 new homes has been moved online.

Will Lefebve, 78, has lived in Ferring for 21 years and was due to defend Chatsmore Farm, the green site where the development is proposed, at the public inquiry yesterday, October 1.

However, the planning inspectorate made the decision to move the last two hearings, yesterday and tomorrow, online, meaning Will was unable to speak as scheduled.

He said: “After being confirmed to speak at the inquiry yesterday, I got a notice on Monday to say it was being moved to virtual.

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“I am quite old and I do not do virtual. I would not know what to do.

“I was quite disappointed and, to be honest, furious. Something that is of major importance is going to be virtual. I felt it was absolutely shameful.

“I know we have got to have new houses but there are places to put them. Angmering has already been destroyed, they are overwhelmed by developments.

“Persimmon Homes are land grabbers. This has got to be stopped.”

A petition has also been started against the development in the hopes of stopping the plans.

The petition, started by Ella Heryet, reads: “The peace and natural beauty of Goring-by-Sea, Worthing, in West Sussex, are under threat due to proposed plans to develop 475 homes on the land North West of Goring Railway Station, also known as Chatsmore Farm.

“The proposed development is on land adjacent to the main road linking Goring-by-Sea to Rustington.

“Therefore, we feel this project would lead to an increase in congestion, significantly disturbing the local transport infrastructure which already struggles to serve the existing population.

“Not to mention, this pristine green space is home to local natural biodiversity, which would be severely damaged by such a vast development.

“The peace and tranquillity enjoyed by the local community would be markedly interrupted and the quality of life potentially diminished.

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“In a time when our natural environments are shrinking, it is crucial to protect our green spaces.”

To date, it has almost 2,000 signatures.

A spokesman for the planning inspectorate said: "To make the most efficient use of the time available, the last day of the inquiry was always planned to be virtual as it would deal only with closing submissions.

"On the opening day of the inquiry it was made clear the penultimate day would also be virtual as only a short amount of time would be required to consider planning conditions and obligations.

"However, members of the public were given the opportunity to speak face to face with the inspector on all of the other sitting days over a two-week period.

"They were advised to arrive at the start of each if they wished to do so. A link was also provided to join the virtual meetings either via Zoom or by telephone."