New Local Plan is a race against time to control speculative development
The importance of passing a new Local Plan to control unwanted development was outlined by Cllr John Milne, Cabinet Member for Planning & Infrastructure, at a meeting of full council on Wednesday (April 24).
Councils are obliged to have a five-year supply of sites to show that they can meet government house-building targets. Unfortunately, Horsham can only show a 2.9-year supply, which is exceptionally low.
As a result, a number of controversial developments have gone through, often approved by planning inspectors who have overturn HDC decisions.
The key way for a council to maintain a five-year supply of housing land is to allocate sites in a Local Plan. Unfortunately, the Conservatives were so split by infighting, with no less than 4 different leaders in 4 years, the vote was kicked to the other side of the election last May.
We’ve all paid a price for that. Since October 2021, when the council lost its five-year supply, until the end of March, 850 permissions were granted including 83 homes at Duckmoor Farm, Billingshurst, 170 at New Place Farm, Pulborough, 78 at Ravenscroft, Storrington, and 133 at Lower Broadbridge Farm, Broadbridge Heath.
None of these needed to happen if the Tories had done their job. Furthermore, because these applications went through outside of a Local Plan, the Council wasn’t able to secure the same level of contribution to infrastructure and services.
Incredibly, the Conservatives are still asking to delay the plan yet again, for no obvious purpose besides politics. Developers are getting cleverer by the day at finding their way round Water Neutrality limits. There are another 1,500 houses looming in applications we will find it difficult to refuse without the protection of a Plan.
The next stage of the Local Plan process is submission in June, which should mean Examination hearings around November/December. However it’s not until next Spring or Summer that the Plan will reach formal Adoption, according to national rules.