Plans to build up to 800 homes north of Southwater refused by Horsham District Council

The outline application, which included a sports and leisure hub, was given the thumbs-down by the planning committee on Tuesday (May 7).

While a number of councillors said they had initially liked the idea – especially the sports provision – the housing gave cause for concern.

Nick Grant (Lib Dem, Holbrook East) said the application from Generator Group was ‘enticing’ but had ‘come crashing on the rocks of reality of lack of infrastructure’.

Planning officers gave nine reasons to refuse the plans.

They included the fact the site was outside the built-up area boundary and was not allocated for development in either the Horsham District Planning Framework or the Southwater Neighbourhood Plan.

They also felt that water neutrality had not been demonstrated ‘with a sufficient degree ofcertainty’, or that there would be ‘safe and suitable’ access to the site for all users.

Then there was the lack of education provision, noise from Worthing Road and the A24, and the risk of flooding in the area.

The council received 827 objections to the plans and 78 letter of support.

A petition from the Keep Denne Hill Green community group attracted more than 3,500 signatures at change.org.

Spokesman Nigel Langridge told the meeting that more than half of those were concerned about the loss of green space and the impact on wildlife.

Mr Langridge said allowing the application would be an ‘undemocratic stab in the back’.

He added: “It would become an urbanised area orphaned from Southwater. And by breaching the barrier of the A24, it would kick-start the inexorable coalescence of Horsham and Southwater.”

But he needn’t have worried as the committee was almost unanimous in its refusal of the application.

Ruth Fletcher (Lib Dem, Denne) pointed out that Active Travel England ‘came down very strongly’ against the plans because of the ‘appalling lack of safe and effective options for people to walk and cycle between the site and Horsham’.

Looking at the lack of education provision, she added: “This is a large site. We are short of educational facilities and this site does not offer the prospect of helping towards that.

“On the contrary, it will exacerbate the situation.”

Chairman Peter van der Borgh (Lib Dem, Southwater North) agreed.

He said: “We have some very unhappy parents and children in Southwater for the second year in a row because the kids can’t get into [their three choices of school].

“To think that they’re going to be further disadvantaged by something like this – the timing is wrong.”

While firmly opposed to the housing development, there was sympathy from councillors for Horsham Hockey Club and for Warren Clark Golfing Dreams – a charity that works with disabled and disadvantaged groups through sport.

Both would have found a new home in the sports hub.

Both David Skipp (Lib Dem, Forest) and Colin Minto (Lib Dem, Forest) made it clear that the council needed to look into what could be done for them.

To view the application, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/23/1178