In a further twist in the preparation of the new Horsham District Local Plan, the leader of the Council Jonathan Chowen has resigned after his party (Conservatives) voted to postpone the local plan until after May's local election. A statement on the Council's website reads:

"Senior councillors of Horsham District Council have voted to pause the development of the Horsham District Local Plan until later this year. The planned meetings of Cabinet and full Council on 18 January 2023 have therefore been cancelled.

The Plan, which was set to go to a Regulation 19 consultation in February 2023 sets out how the District will deliver the required number of homes in a sustainable way, supporting the requirements to be water neutral and the delivery of community infrastructures, transport links and opportunities for local employment.

This delay will frustrate many who are promoting sites, preparing planning applications, or have live planning applications and were relying to some degree on the emerging Local Plan. Horsham District is facing a dwindling 5 year housing land supply (latest published figure is 3 years) mainly thanks to the imposition of water neutrality requirements to protect the Arun Valley SAC. It is also facing considerable pressure from developers with many speculative schemes equating to thousands of new homes across the district. 

The Government are currently consulting on changes to the planning system which may provide Horsham District Council with a way out of their current predicament but for now, Horsham District have decided to wait.

If you have a project/site impacted by the uncertainty in Horsham District get in touch with us for an informal chat to see whether we can assist.

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