Horsham's Local Plan target has jumped from 13,212 to 18,712 homes, with a new 3,200-home settlement at Adversane. Comment until noon on 24 August 2026.

The biggest planning story in the Horsham district this year is a set of quiet-sounding “Main Modifications” that do something very loud: they raise the Local Plan’s housing requirement from 13,212 to at least 18,712 homes by 2040, lift the average build rate from 777 to 1,100 homes a year, and add a brand-new 3,200-home settlement at Adversane, south of Billingshurst. The public consultation on those changes is open now and closes at 12 noon on Monday 24 August 2026. This page explains what changed, why, which sites carry the weight, and how to comment while it still counts.

What changed, and why

The Horsham District Local Plan 2023 to 2040 was submitted for examination in July 2024, with hearings in December 2024 and April 2026. A new Planning Inspector, Jonathan Bore, was appointed in January 2026, and after the April hearings on housing need and supply he wrote to the council on 5 May 2026 with interim conclusions that sent officers away to find a bigger number. The result, at the council’s own request, is the schedule of Main Modifications now out for comment (Latest news from the Local Plan examination, Main Modifications).

The new arithmetic, from the published schedule (MMJB01, June 2026):

  • Horsham’s own assessed need is 14,071 homes over the 17-year plan period, about 911 a year under the government’s standard method, trimmed 2.3% for the South Downs National Park.
  • On top of that the district now formally takes 221 homes a year of Crawley’s unmet need (3,757 homes, mostly at West of Ifield) and 52 homes a year for Adur and Worthing, giving the 18,712 total.
  • The requirement is stepped rather than flat: from 452 homes in the plan’s first year it climbs to 1,100 a year from 2028 and 1,601 a year from 2033, which is the number that will reshape the district’s villages in the 2030s.

Where the homes would go

Bar chart of the biggest housing allocations in Horsham's modified Local Plan: West of Ifield 3,000 homes with at least 2,500 in the plan period, the new Adversane settlement 3,200 homes with 1,425 in period, Land East of Billingshurst 1,000 homes, North West of Southwater 950 and North Horsham intensification 500
Chart by Horsham Daily, from the Schedule of Proposed Main Modifications, June 2026.
  • Land West of Ifield: 3,000 homes on the Crawley border, with the in-period figure raised from 1,600 to at least 2,500, and a higher 40% affordable housing target.
  • Land at Adversane (Kingswood): a new 3,200-home settlement, the modification’s genuinely new allocation, with at least 1,425 homes expected inside the plan period.
  • Land East of Billingshurst: up from 650 to 1,000 homes.
  • Land north-west of Southwater: at least 950 homes, up from 735.
  • North Horsham: a further 500 homes through intensification, including Cuckmere Farm.

Overall the identified deliverable supply rises to 20,915 homes, of which 10,618 already have permission or sit in made neighbourhood plans.

West of Ifield: still waiting for its decision

The district’s largest live application, Homes England’s hybrid scheme for up to 3,000 homes at Land West of Ifield (reference DC/25/1312), remains awaiting decision on the council’s Public Access portal, with no committee date set. The application was validated on 28 August 2025, its neighbour consultation closed in May 2026, and the council and applicant have agreed an extended determination deadline of 30 September 2026 (DC/25/1312 on Public Access). Its first phase includes the Crawley Western Multi-Modal Corridor road, which is why it also features on our roadworks and travel page.

What happens next

The provisional timetable agreed between the council and the Inspector (provisional timetable, June 2026):

  1. Consultation closes 12 noon, Monday 24 August 2026; responses go to the Inspector by 28 August.
  2. Further hearings run 13 to 23 October 2026.
  3. The Inspector’s final report and adoption of the plan are both pencilled in for January 2027.

Two clocks tick behind that one. The council has already started its successor plan, Horsham District 2045, whose Call for Sites closes on 25 August 2026 (Horsham District 2045). And local government reorganisation means Horsham District Council itself is expected to be abolished by April 2028, replaced by a West Sussex unitary council, with the government’s decision on the shape of that now expected in October 2026 (council reorganisation page); the 2045 plan may end up adopted by a council that does not yet exist.

Also worth knowing this month

  • A 100% affordable scheme at Broadbridge Heath. The 92-home Vistry site south of Broadbridge Way (DC/25/0894), approved in January with 37% affordable housing, returns to planning committee on 18 August 2026 with a revised offer to deliver all 92 homes as affordable housing, using Homes England grant funding with the Hyde Group; officers recommend approval (committee report).
  • Water neutrality is gone. Natural England withdrew its 2021 position statement on 31 October 2025, so applications no longer need water neutrality statements or offsetting payments, though the 110-litres-per-person-per-day efficiency standard still applies by condition (water neutrality).
  • At the July committee, a six-pitch gypsy and traveller site at Long Wells Vineyard, Warnham was approved and the Beckley Stud office conversion at Southwater refused (minutes, 21 July 2026).

How to have your say

The consultation is narrower than the earlier rounds: only comments on the Main Modifications themselves will be processed, not objections to the rest of the plan, and they go to the Inspector rather than the council. Respond via the Main Modifications page before 12 noon on 24 August 2026. For individual applications week to week, our Horsham planning applications page explains how to search the portal, comment in time and avoid the South Downs trap. New allocations eventually land on the numbers behind Horsham house prices too.

Frequently asked questions

What is Horsham’s housing target?

Under the proposed Main Modifications, at least 18,712 homes between 2023 and 2040, an average of 1,100 a year, stepping up to 1,601 a year from 2033. The submitted plan had said 13,212 (Schedule of Main Modifications).

Why did the target jump by 5,500 homes?

A new Inspector concluded after the April 2026 hearings that the plan needed a higher requirement, and the revised figure also formally takes on 221 homes a year of Crawley’s unmet need and 52 a year for Adur and Worthing.

What is planned at Adversane?

A new settlement of 3,200 homes at Land at Adversane (Kingswood), south of Billingshurst, added by the Main Modifications, with at least 1,425 of those homes expected by 2040.

Has West of Ifield been approved?

Not yet. DC/25/1312, for up to 3,000 homes, is awaiting decision with no committee date set and an agreed determination deadline of 30 September 2026 (Public Access).

When will the Local Plan be adopted?

The provisional timetable points to further hearings in October 2026 and adoption around January 2027, if the Inspector finds the modified plan sound.

Can I still comment on the Local Plan?

Yes, on the Main Modifications only, until 12 noon on Monday 24 August 2026, via the council’s Main Modifications page.

Sources

Planning timetables move, and Main Modification figures are proposals until the Inspector’s final report. Checked against the council’s own documents on 7 August 2026.