Review of conservation areas for town and villages

There are currently 37 designated areas across the Horsham district but only four, Horsham, Amberley, Bramber, and Slinfold, have an adopted appraisal.

Therefore Horsham District Council has started a rolling programme of producing conservation area appraisals and management plans with Billingshurst, Pulborough, Storrington, Henfield, and Steyning making up the first wave.

Cabinet members approved the draft plans for public consultation to start in September for four weeks when they met last month.

Claire Vickers (Con, Southwater), cabinet member for planning and development, said: “This council recognises that the district’s historic environment is an irreplaceable resource which should be conserved for future generations.

“It’s what makes our district unique and is important for both tourism and the local economy.”

She added: “Without appraisals setting out the significance of these areas, it’s very difficult for Horsham District Council to manage change positively in the remaining 33 areas of the district.

“Therefore we’ve decided to introduce a rolling programme of conservation area appraisals starting with the six experiencing the greatest development pressures.”

The draft appraisals recommend extending the conservation areas in some areas and removing parts of others.

In Steyning the boundary has been extended to include the police station, recreation ground, Mill Road, the railway suburb, and more of Jarvis Lane.

Pulborough has two conservation areas, Church Place and Lower Street, with the two most significant proposed enlargements eastwards across Lower Street and the inclusion of railway lands to the western edge of the village.

Alongside a number of deletions the draft conservation area in Billingshurst would cover Windmill Place and the allotments behind Little East Street.

In Henfield a number of deletions are proposed with the main three removing properties in The Hooks, Chestnut Way, and behind Henfield Library.

The main additions to the conservation area in Storrington would include the majority of the Glebe Field, the western half of West Street, and further along both North Street and School Hill.

For more information visit www.horsham.gov.uk/planning/design-and-conservation/conservation-areas