A last seven-week consultation on Local Plan changes is due to run from 17 November to 5 January. West of Ifield would get one primary school, not two.
Residents will get one more say on the Horsham District Local Plan, from Tuesday 17 November 2026 to Tuesday 5 January 2027. The consultation covers 42 “further main modifications” agreed with the Local Plan Inspector at the end of the October hearings. Cabinet is asked to approve it on Monday 16 November (Cabinet report, 16 November 2026).
The council calls the changes “principally technical”. Some will matter to people living nearby: they cut the schools planned for Land West of Ifield, lower the nature target at East of Billingshurst and drop a promise that Adversane’s primary school would come early.
What changes, site by site
The changes are listed in a 16-page schedule published with the Cabinet papers (Appendix A, Schedule of Proposed Further Main Modifications). The ones residents are most likely to notice:
Land West of Ifield (FMM14 and FMM15)
- Primary schools: one three-form entry primary school instead of two two-form entry schools.
- Secondary school: a six-form entry school expandable to eight, instead of eight expandable to ten.
- Why: “updated advice from West Sussex County Council (arising from updated Census data)”, the schedule says.
- Transport: a new line says “proportional contributions” will be sought towards bus, rail station, walking and cycling schemes, “including in Crawley Borough”.
East of Billingshurst (FMM18 to FMM27)
- Nature target: the minimum biodiversity net gain falls from 12% to 10%.
- Two halves: the land north and south of the railway can come forward with separate masterplans and planning applications, provided they fit one site-wide framework.
- North of the railway: the primary school, the community hub with a hall, shop and cafe, and the permanent five-pitch Gypsy and Traveller site all go here.
- Railway crossing: the footpath level crossing must be replaced by a bridge or underpass. It must be in place before all the homes are finished or the primary school opens, whichever comes first.
Adversane (FMM28 to FMM32)
- Primary school: three forms of entry from the start, rather than two expandable to three. The words “to be delivered at an early phase of development” are struck out.
- Roads: improvements at the A29/A283 mini roundabouts in Pulborough, and contributions for the A264 Five Oaks Road arm of the roundabout south of Broadbridge Heath.
- Wildlife: applications need a habitats assessment and a wintering birds survey for the Arun Valley protected site.
Other changes tighten wording on pubs and community buildings (marketing for at least a year, with CAMRA’s viability test cited), require an ecology check on The Birches woodland next to the HA10 site in Horsham, and set a buffer of at least 15 metres from ancient woodland at the Henfield site.
The housing numbers, year by year
FMM13 adds a table setting out how many homes the plan must deliver each year. It splits the target between Horsham’s own need and unmet need from Crawley, Adur and Worthing.
| Years | Horsham | Crawley | Adur | Worthing | Homes a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 340 | 91 | 8 | 13 | 452 |
| 2024/25 | 241 | 64 | 6 | 9 | 320 |
| 2025/26 | 177 | 47 | 4 | 7 | 235 |
| 2026/27 to 2027/28 | 375 | 100 | 9 | 15 | 499 |
| 2028/29 to 2032/33 | 827 | 221 | 20 | 32 | 1,100 |
| 2033/34 to 2039/40 | 1,204 | 321 | 29 | 47 | 1,601 |
A stepped target like this keeps the early years achievable while the large sites, such as West of Ifield and Adversane, get going. It also means the district will have to build far more homes a year in the 2030s than it does now.
What you can and cannot comment on
The Inspector has limited this round to the further changes alone. The report says comments on the rest of the plan, or on the earlier main modifications consulted on between 13 July and 24 August 2026, are already before him and will not be reopened.
- How to respond: mainly through the council’s online consultation link, with email and paper responses also accepted.
- Where to read it: online, and in paper copies at local libraries and the council’s offices, where staff will help people who need it.
- Why seven weeks: the legal minimum is six. The council added a week because of Christmas.
Every comment goes to the Inspector in full and will be published.
What it means for you
If you live near West of Ifield, East of Billingshurst or Adversane, this is the last chance to comment on the detailed terms these sites will be built under. Those terms include the schools, the railway crossing and the nature target.
After 5 January, the Inspector writes his final report, which he has said will reach the council in January 2027. The council expects Full Council to consider it in February 2027, when the plan could be adopted. Our earlier reports cover the Inspector’s 30 October letter on West of Ifield and his preliminary view that the plan is sound. You can also follow planning applications across the district.
The changes go to the council’s Communities and Place scrutiny committee on Thursday 12 November and to Cabinet on 16 November (scrutiny agenda, Cabinet agenda). Both meetings start at 5.30pm in the Council Chamber at Albery House.
Have your say