Horsham District Local Plan moves step forward

Work towards the adoption of Horsham District Council’s new Local Plan has taken another step forward.

The draft Local Plan 2023-2040 was submitted for examination in July, with Luke Fleming appointed as inspector by the government.

Mr Fleming has produced a list of ‘matters, issues and questions’ which need to be addressed to give him a clearer understanding of the contents of the Plan.

He also set out a timetable for the examination hearings. They will be held in the main conference room at the council’s offices in Chart Way during the weeks commencing December 9 and 16 and January 13 and 20.

Mr Fleming’s list of ‘matters, issues and questions’ was split into ten sections made up of 117 questions.

They included questions around the strategic policy relating West of Ifield – including whether it was sound and what the justification was for the proposed number of homes.

Climate change was also among the list – whether the Plan contributes to climate change mitigation, and which policies this involves specifically.

Mr Fleming also asked questions about whether the strategy and overarching policies for growth and change in Horsham and Broadbridge Heath were ‘justified, effective, consistent with national policy and positively prepared’.

The raising of ‘matters, issues and questions’ is a standard part of the Local Plan examination process.

They may ‘evolve’ as the process goes on and the inspector receives answers and explanations.

Ruth Fletcher, cabinet member for planning & infrastructure, said: “It is very important to us that we have a sound Local Plan in place, and the Local Plan Examination is a vital step in ensuring that this is the case.”

Mrs Fletcher said that, should the Plan be found ‘sound’, the council would be ‘in a stronger position to control the development that does take place in our district’.

She added: “Our draft Plan includes policies which seek to set a realistic level of housing development. This will help us to successfully defend speculative applications which result in piecemeal development that does not deliver the local infrastructure facilities we need to support that development.

“Our housing allocation policies in the Plan set out clear expectations on the infrastructure needed to support the new housing.

“We are also proposing higher targets for affordable housing, as so many people in our district struggle to access truly affordable homes.

“Whilst I recognise that there is always concern when new housing is proposed, our policies in the new Plan also set much tougher environmental standards than those set out in our current Local Plan.

“This means that the development that does come forward will deliver biodiversity net gain and be built to very high standards of carbon efficiency.”

The council will be drafting its responses over the coming weeks and will publish them on its website along with responses from other parties.

The Local Plan has been in development since April 2018 and is expected to be adopted in May 2025.