Horsham District Council's draft plan for 2027 to 2031 goes out for comment from 19 November to 30 December. It names 26 first-year actions, from play areas to EV chargers.
Horsham District Council will ask residents what they think of its priorities for the next four years, in a six-week consultation from Thursday 19 November to Wednesday 30 December.
The draft Council Plan for 2027 to 2031 sets out the council’s aims. A draft Annual Plan lists 26 things it intends to do in the first year, April 2027 to March 2028. The cabinet member for performance, customer service and communications approved the consultation on 11 November (decision notice). The decision can still be called in by councillors until 19 November, the day the consultation is due to open.
What the council says it will do in 2027/28
The draft Annual Plan is the part with names and places in it (draft Council Plan and Annual Plan). Among its 26 actions are:
- Leisure centres: finish choosing a new operator and start the contract from December 2027. The current Places Leisure contract runs out on 30 November 2027, as we reported in September.
- Highwood: take the new community centre through planning and detailed design so building can start.
- Housing: start homes on the former London Road car park in Horsham, as semi-independent housing for younger people, and start building the nine affordable homes at Dukes Square.
- Play areas: finish refurbishing the play areas at Littlehaven Lane and Bennetts Field.
- Billingshurst: keep delivering the Better Billingshurst Community Fund and Investment Programme.
- Southwater Country Park: review its management plan.
- Storrington: restore the Millpond and the River Stor chalk stream habitat where it passes through Meadowside.
- EV charging: support charge points with solar panels at Blatchford Close, Lintot Square and Oakhurst.
- Air quality: put mobile sensors near primary schools across the district, with real-time readings.
- Cycling: work with West Sussex County Council and Horsham Town Council to introduce on-street cycle hangers, and agree a plan for a town centre walking and cycling network.
- Energy: assess whether a heat network would work in Horsham, and help at least two community energy projects progress.
- Jobs: explore an enterprise and innovation centre at the planned Mowbray Employment Park.
- Food and drink: explore a “Horsham Local Produce & Experience Sussex Hub”.
The plan also commits the council to keep promoting its Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) and review its impact on vulnerable residents, and to write a new climate resilience strategy.
The four aims
The draft Council Plan groups 25 priorities under four headings:
| Aim | Priorities include |
|---|---|
| Supporting people and communities | cost of living help, more “genuinely affordable” and social homes, infrastructure as the district grows, sport and culture for all |
| Leading greener futures | nature recovery, climate resilience, protecting waterways, less waste and more recycling, safer walking and cycling routes |
| Growing our local economy | local jobs, town and village centre improvements, events, food and drink tourism, better public transport, the Horsham BID |
| Always listening, learning and improving | talking to residents, working with town and parish councils, preparing for local government reorganisation |
That last heading matters more than usual. West Sussex’s district and county councils are due to be replaced by new unitary councils, and the council’s latest budget report assumes that happens on 1 April 2029 (our report on the delay). This plan would run to 2031, so its later years would be delivered by a different council.
When it is decided
The council’s timetable, from the decision notice, is:
- 19 November to 30 December 2026: public consultation, online
- 6 or 11 January 2027: scrutiny committees can look at the revised plans
- 20 January 2027: Cabinet recommends the Council Plan and adopts the Annual Plan
- 22 February 2027: Full Council is asked to adopt the Council Plan
What it means for you
The consultation is online. The council says it will publish it on its website and promote it on social media, and parish and town councils will be told about it. The council says it will consider the responses in December and January and refine the plans before they go to Cabinet.
The plan does not set council tax, which is decided with the budget. Our page on Horsham council tax bands has this year’s charges.
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