Horsham’s Local Plan – Where Do We Stand?
You may have heard some noise recently about Horsham District’s Local Plan being “in trouble.” Unfortunately, that’s not an exaggeration. In early April, a letter from the Government’s Planning Inspector landed with some heavy news: he’s advising Horsham District Council to withdraw the current Local Plan altogether and start from scratch.
Yes, really.
So What’s the Issue?
The Inspector says the Plan has failed something called the Duty to Cooperate-essentially, the legal requirement for councils to work together on big regional issues like housing, infrastructure, and, in this case, water supply.
His recommendation? Bin it and go back to the drawing board.
The Council’s Response
Horsham District Council is understandably not thrilled. They’ve responded with a 7-page rebuttal highlighting delays, poor communication, and what they see as a deeply flawed process. Their frustration is clear: thousands of hours of work and public money spent, hearings scheduled and cancelled at short notice, and no clear indication early on that these “cooperation” issues would be fatal.
In short, they feel the rug’s been pulled from under them – and after months of silence.
Why Should We Care?
Because this affects us, right here in the parish.
- Local Neighbourhood Plans that were ready to go to referendum are now on hold, this also halts our plans to revise our plan.
- Planning applications are stuck in limbo, as the Council doesn’t know whether to rely on the old or new plan (and the “new” one may now never see the light of day).
- Our existing Neighbourhood Plan was adopted in 2015, and it’s starting to show its age.
This kind of uncertainty is a gift to speculative developers, who thrive when councils don’t have clear up-to-date plans in place.
What’s Next?
At the moment, the Council hasn’t officially withdrawn the Plan, but it looks like that’s where things are heading. That decision would need to be made at a full Council meeting, and in the meantime, they’re weighing up their options- legal or otherwise.
If the Plan is withdrawn, it means we’ll be starting a whole new Local Plan process. Realistically, that could take another couple of years. Until then, we’re stuck with a creaky old framework and a lot of unanswered questions.
Final Word
No one wants to be in this position – least of all those of us trying to represent our community and plan for its future. We’ll keep pushing for answers and keep you informed. And if you’ve got concerns or want to discuss how this might affect our parish directly, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
More updates to follow as we get them.