Local Plan stumbles again!

This time it's political: from an HDC press release dated Tuesday 10 January 2023:

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 translates as 'the Tory majority group got together and decided that, in the face of increasing verbal opposition from some of their supporters, it would make their chances at the upcoming May elections less dire if the plan were delayed for the new administration to sort out'.  I appreciate the irony of my commenting in this way, having proposed a delay in June 2021 (to see what the post pandemic environment would be like), but I think we have a much better idea now, and water neutrality will restrain development for the next few years, so a plan would be better than no plan?

A further twist emerged on Tuesday in a message from HDC's chief exec:

'I have today received a letter of resignation from Councillor Jonathan Chowen from his role as leader of the Council with immediate effect.  Councillor Tony Hogben, as Deputy Leader, will act as Leader until full Council is able to appoint a new Leader at its next meeting.'  

Which made for an interesting week, and it's only Thursday!  (It's almost as if the local Tories are trying to outdo the national party, in that the next incumbent will be the fourth Leader in as many years!) 

Back to the 'decision to delay' made by 'senior councillors'.  It doesn't strike me as very democratic, in that the debate was behind closed doors.  There has been a second press release sent to the WS County Times, but again that's not been made public (until WSCT's next edition).  I suppose I'm being naïve (undoubtedly I am, politically) but, regardless of the Tory group vote, a documented decision at a cabinet meeting (maybe the one planned for 18 January?) would have made the decision accountable in a formal way.