Billingshurst has until 28 September to comment on a pump track, a new Jubilee Fields play area, paths and seating. Early estimates reach £144,000 a project.
Billingshurst is getting a pump track, a new play area for younger children and better paths, seating and lighting in three of its parks. Residents have two weeks to shape the designs. The consultation opened on Monday 14 September and closes at 11.59pm on Monday 28 September (Horsham District Council consultation page).
Billingshurst is about seven miles south-west of Horsham, on the A29. The work is part of the district council’s Better Billingshurst programme, run with Billingshurst Parish Council.
What is proposed, park by park
The council’s announcement of 14 September and the consultation page list these projects.
Lower Station Road Recreation Ground
- a new pump track, a circuit of bumps and dips that riders get round without pedalling
- new sensory, accessible and natural play equipment at the Natts Lane Play Area
- a perimeter path
- a new seating area
Station Road Community Gardens
- a new seating area
- upgraded lighting
- resurfacing and repainting of the ballcourt
Jubilee Fields
- a new play area for younger children
The council says the aim is more welcoming places for children to play, more ways for residents to be active, and parks that are easier for everyone to use.
What each one was costed at
The council’s Better Billingshurst background report (PDF), dated December 2025, put early price tags on each idea. It stresses that these were initial designs, and the size and location of facilities may change.
| Project | Where | Indicative build cost | Yearly upkeep |
|---|---|---|---|
| New play area, plus fencing | Jubilee Fields | £120,000, plus £24,000 fencing | £990, plus £1,200 fencing |
| Perimeter path, 2.5m tarmac | Lower Station Road Recreation Ground | £142,000 | £7,100 |
| Seating area | Station Road Community Gardens | £102,000 | £620 |
| Pump track | Lower Station Road Recreation Ground | £96,000 | £990 |
| Seating area | Lower Station Road Recreation Ground | £96,000 | £590 |
| Accessible, sensory and natural play equipment | Natts Lane Play Area | £64,000 | £300 |
Added together, those six estimates come to about £644,000. The report gives no figure for the ballcourt resurfacing and lighting in the form now proposed. The seating costs are the loosest: both are based on a scheme the council built at Roffey Recreation Ground, and the report says the real cost depends on size and design.
Two details from the same report explain the choices:
- Billingshurst has half the youth facilities it should. The council’s 2021 open space review found 0.2 square metres of outdoor youth space per resident, against a standard of 0.4.
- The old skatepark is cracking. A structural check commissioned by the parish council in May 2023 found cracks of 2 to 5mm in the half-pipe next to Natts Lane, which could widen through subsidence.
The same report also costed a concrete skate plaza, at up to £300,000, and a hard-surfaced multi-sports court, at around £180,000. Neither appears in the current consultation.
How residents ranked these ideas last year
This is not the first time Billingshurst has been asked. The council’s 2025 consultation report (PDF) drew 769 responses, about 7% of the parish’s population. People scored 38 possible projects.
Sports facilities at Jubilee Fields took the top places. Changing rooms for women and girls came first. The projects now out for comment ranked like this:
| Project in the 2025 survey | Overall rank of 38 | Rank among under-17s | Rank among 25 to 39s | Rank among over-60s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New play area at Jubilee Fields | 7 | 7 | 2 | 21 |
| Pump track, multi-sports area and skate plaza | 22 | 14 | 12 | 36 |
| Extra play equipment at Natts Lane | 25 | 33 | 15 | 27 |
| New seating at Station Road Community Gardens | 28 | 15 | 29 | 33 |
| Perimeter path and seating, Lower Station Road | 30 | 22 | 28 | 30 |
The split by age is the story in that table. The pump track ranked 36th of 38 with the over-60s, but 12th with 25 to 39 year olds. Only 7% of those who answered were 24 or under, which the council says is typical of its consultations.
Who pays
The council says the programme is funded by £1 million of its own money plus contributions from housing developers building in Billingshurst. When it announced the programme in March, it put the total at about £2.5 million, with £1.5 million of that from developers (council announcement, March 2026).
The money is split across the projects (Better Billingshurst programme page):
- From developer contributions, known as Section 106 money: the pump track and its seating area, the new Jubilee Fields play area, and the new sensory, natural and accessible play equipment.
- From the £1 million fund: the path at Lower Station Road Recreation Ground and the seating area at Station Road Community Gardens.
The council’s own explanation is that infrastructure in the parish “has not kept pace with the rate of residential and commercial development”.
Other parts of the programme are already moving.
- Roof repairs at the Jubilee Fields Pavilion are the first completed project from this stage.
- Community grants of more than £13,000 went to seven local groups, including Billingshurst Bowling Club, the Weald School’s Greenpower racing team and Horsham Matters’ mobile foodbank.
- Also on the £1 million fund’s list are upgrades to the Women’s Hall, a new clubhouse for the bowling club, and changing rooms for women and girls at Jubilee Fields. The fund also covers the money needed to apply to the Football Foundation for a 3G pitch there.
What it means for you
- Have your say by 11.59pm on Monday 28 September through the council’s online survey. The council says it wants views to help shape the final designs.
- If you use the parks with children: this is the stage where the layout and equipment can still change. Among 25 to 39 year olds last year, the Jubilee Fields play area ranked 2nd of 38 projects.
- Neighbours of Lower Station Road Recreation Ground: the ground is protected Local Green Space in the Billingshurst Neighbourhood Plan, and the council’s report expects the improvements there to need planning permission. The report also says any design must keep open space for the Billingshurst Carnival and other large events.
- Not online? The council’s customer services number is 01403 215100.
For other planning decisions across the district, see our Horsham planning applications page. Billingshurst’s biggest housing site is covered in our Elmfield Green story.
Sources
- Horsham District Council: Better Billingshurst improvements move forward as residents invited to have their say, 14 September 2026
- Horsham District Council: Consultation on delivering Open Space and Play Improvements in Billingshurst (open 14 to 28 September 2026)
- Better Billingshurst Community Fund and Investment Programme page
- Better Billingshurst Programme Background Report, December 2025 (PDF)
- Better Billingshurst Public Consultation Report, December 2025, updated March 2026 (PDF)
- Horsham District Council: Improvement projects announced to create a ‘Better Billingshurst’, March 2026
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