The application from Abingworth Developments Ltd for land at Brook Hill was given the nod by the planning committee this week. The council received 34 letters of objection to the plans, including a 72-name petition.
Concerns ranged from flooding and drainage to traffic and the pressure being placed on local services such as schools and GPs.
Lynn Lambert (Con, Cowfold, Shermanbury & West Grinstead) shared some concerns about traffic, pointing out that the plan to impose a 30mph speed limit to the north of the site would ‘just make people angry’.
She was also less than impressed with the look of the houses, calling them ‘fairly ghastly, boring and town-like’. The site was allocated for housing in the emerging Cowfold Neighbourhood Plan.
With the district council only having a three-year supply of housing land instead of the required five, a report to the committee said the development would ‘make a notable contribution to the district’s housing needs’.
The committee approved the application by 11 votes to one with four abstentions.
As a result, the 4.6-hectare site will be developed with a range of one-bedroom to four-bedroom houses, 12 of which will be classed as affordable.
To view the application, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/22/1815.
