Horsham may need to allocate space to build even more homes because built-up neighbouring areas don’t have the space, a government official warned this week.
The comments were made during the first meeting to look at Horsham District Council’s new local plan – a document setting out planning policies such as which sites are suitable for housing.
Planning inspector Luke Fleming has been appointed by the Secretary of State to carry out the examination. Yesterday, he talked about the district’s “duty to cooperate” which has seen it take on the building of homes which the likes of Crawley had no space to accommodate.
He said: “I’m particularly concerned that, even if I find the duty to cooperate has been met, it’s highly likely that more work will need to be undertaken in a number of areas.”
He told the hearing that if the work was likely to take a significant amount of time, he may choose to adjourn the hearings until a later date.
One of the key questions he has to consider is whether the council’s proposed housing requirement is sound according to the National Planning Policy Framework. If it’s not, then he may decide that more development sites need to be found.
Yesterday was the first of 11 hearing sessions due to take place, during which Mr Fleming has to assess the plan against whether it is :
- Justified – i.e. the most appropriate strategy when compared to other options, and based on credible evidence
- Effective – i.e. it must be deliverable over its period (in Horsham’s case 2023-2040)
- Consistent with national policy
- Positively prepared – i.e. it meets requirements, including unmet need from neighbouring authorities where it is reasonable to do so.
Horsham MP John Milne told the meeting that the Local Plan process had become too “controversial and convoluted” and that changes in national policy were having an “unforeseen impact”.
A new version of the National Planning Policy Framework is due to be announced tomorrow.
This examination, though, is being carried out under the September 2023 version of the framework.
While Mr Milne had concerns about whether it would be politically possible to pass the next plan, he said he believed that this one would be found sound.
But on Wednesday (December 11), Mr Fleming told the meeting he was “a little bit more concerned than I was at the start of the hearings.”
The hearings are being held at the council offices, at Parkside, in Chart Way, during the weeks commencing December 16, January 13 and January 20.
A consultation into any modifications called for by the inspector will be held in February/March, before a final report is received in June.
It is hoped that the Local Plan will be adopted in September 2025.
