Development proposals at Glebe Farm, Steyning
It seems from recent public meetings that our MP (Andrew Griffith) is being somewhat economical with the truth regarding Horsham's Local Plan Reg.19 submission.
The following is the position of the local Green group district councillors.
At a meeting at the Steyning Centre on 11th April 2024, Andrew Griffith MP suggested that residents ask their District Councillors how they voted on the Local Plan (Dec 23):
• Mr Griffith knows that voting in council meetings is a matter of public record.
• The Local Plan includes Glebe Farm (DC/21/2233 Land North of Glebe Farm and Kings Barn Lane).
• The individual councillor details are easily gleaned from the Horsham District Council (HDC) website or the YouTube video recording of the meeting.
• At the meeting, Mr Griffith also suggested that it was unfortunate that the Glebe Farm site had been included in the HDC Local Plan and that it was ‘...rejected in the previous plan...’. This is not the case: In fact, the proposed development at Glebe Farm (‘at least 240 homes’) was included in the previous iteration of the Local Plan (July 21 Regulation 19 consultation) which was agreed and promoted by the Conservative Cabinet (Public Pack) Agenda Document for Cabinet, 15/07/2021 17:30 (moderngov.co.uk)
It is disingenuous of Mr Griffith to criticise HDC planning for the current Local Plan, which is necessary to meet housing target requirements mandated by central Conservative government law.
As required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the Standard Methodology calculation for Horsham District demands 911 dwellings/annum across the Horsham District(this is equivalent to 15,487 homes in the 17-year period 2023-2040) yet HDC’s evidence base work has identified a total of 13,212 homes and associated infrastructure which are considered to be deliverable in the Local Plan (an average of 777 homes/year to be delivered in a stepped-wise way) – that’s 2,275 fewer dwellings in all.
Why do we need a local plan anyway?
If the Local Plan does not try to meet central government’s demands, it will be rejected by the Planning Inspectorate – leading to a free-for-all for developers. You may have noticed, with dismay, the numbers of new builds around Fontwell and Barnham. It is important to know this is because Arun District Council still has no Local Plan in place – something Andrew Griffiths has highlighted as a failing of that Council at a meeting in Arun only a few weeks back - which is quite an irony considering he is now saying he’s against Horsham’s Local Plan. Minutes from Barnham & Eastergate Parish Council meeting 12 March 2024 say: “10.4 Andrew Griffith MP Meeting – The Chair [...] in particular was pleased to hear him say he would tell Arun to sort out their Local Plan.” https://barnhamandeastergate-pc.gov.uk/media/15179/draft-bepc-minutes-12-03-24.pdf
How did the Greens vote? And would voting against the local plan have made a difference?
Six Greens voted for the draft Local Plan on 11 th December 2023, on the basis that it was better than the current ’planning free-for all’, and two abstained, but only after Greens having gained several improvements in areas such as sustainability, active travel and affordability.
Green decided to work with the Lib Dems in a constructive way, for the best outcome for the residents throughout the District.
The Lib Dems are now the majority party at HDC (28 in Dec, now 27) so they did not require additional votes from the minority/opposition groups to get the Local Plan approved (Cons then 11, now 12, Greens then 8 now 9).
The current Local Plan is very similar to the previous version devised by the Conservatives, with a few significant removals in the shape of large sites at Adversane and Buck Barn.
Any significant changes to the Local Plan might have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds and taken many years – during which time 1000s more houses could have been built speculatively - to lower standards and without any control over location from the Council - which would also have to relinquish influence on the provision of supporting infrastructure – just like in Arun District.
When voting, councillors were doing so for the District, not individual wards. This does not mean that when voting Greens were happy with all elements.
Horsham Planning Committees will be able to scrutinise the details of developments on a one-by-one basis, to ensure that they align with the Climate Action and Supplementary Design Strategies to improve the quality of developments.
Local councillors may be contacted via email at:
Cllr Mike Croker (Bramber, Upper Beeding & Woodmancote: Mike.Croker@Horsham.gov.uk
Cllr Victoria Finnegan (Steyning & Ashurst): Victoria.Finnegan@Horsham.gov.uk
Cllr Nick Marks (Steyning & Ashurst): Nicholas.Marks@Horsham.gov.uk
