Councillors refused 23 homes behind The Copse, Worthing Road, Southwater on 3 November, overruling officers who had advised approval despite three past refusals.

Updated 12 November: the Planning Committee refused the application on 3 November, against the officers’ recommendation, ruling the site inappropriate development in the countryside outside Southwater’s built-up area boundary. Our report on the refusal has the reason and the debate (minutes).

Plans for 23 homes on a field behind The Copse, Worthing Road, at the northern edge of Southwater, should be approved, Horsham District Council’s planning officers say. The site is outside the village’s settlement boundary, and similar schemes there were refused three times between 2015 and 2019.

The Planning Committee decides the application, DC/26/0355, on Tuesday 3 November (committee report).

What is proposed

The applicant is Star Build Ltd. The field is about 1.8 hectares, west of Worthing Road and south of the Blakes Farm roundabout on the A24. The scheme includes:

  • 23 houses: 14 for sale and 9 affordable
  • of the affordable homes, six for affordable rent and three for intermediate rent
  • a mix of one-bedroom to four-bedroom homes, including a one-bedroom home over a garage
  • 46 allocated parking spaces plus five for visitors
  • access through the entrance already approved for a care home on the neighbouring plot, which was The Copse

The back gardens of Welcome Place run along the site’s eastern edge. The report adds that the land directly to the west is a draft Local Plan site for about 1,000 homes, under a separate application, DC/26/0366.

Why officers back it

The site is not allocated for housing, and the officers’ report accepts that the scheme breaks Horsham’s and Southwater’s adopted plan policies on building in the countryside.

It recommends approval anyway because:

  • the council cannot show a five-year supply of land for housing
  • it scored 44% in the government’s latest Housing Delivery Test, against a 75% threshold
  • the Southwater Neighbourhood Plan is more than five years old, so it has lost its special protection under national policy

In that situation, national policy says housing next to an existing settlement “should be approved” unless the harm “substantially” outweighs the benefits. Officers judge that it does not.

Who objects, and why

Southwater Parish Council objects and asked for the committee to decide. It says the site was rejected when the neighbourhood plan was drawn up, and that a “materially identical” scheme was dismissed at appeal in July 2019. Fewer homes now, it says, “does not overcome the fundamental objection”.

The council’s own tree officer objected on 19 August. The access road would run through the root zones of two protected oaks, covering 16% and 18% of those zones. The officer says the road design “does not comply” with the British Standard for protecting trees. Planning officers note both figures are under the 20% the standard allows. They also point to a similar road near a protected tree in Bax Close, Storrington, allowed at appeal.

Neighbours sent 19 objection letters from 14 addresses. The issues they raised include:

  • building outside the settlement boundary
  • overlooking and loss of light, especially for homes in Welcome Place
  • traffic near the roundabout
  • the safety of children near the ponds
  • drainage, wildlife and noise from air source heat pumps
  • the combined effect of small sites around Southwater

There was one letter of support, which said the land had been empty a long time and would make a good gateway to the village. Councillor Vickers also asked for the application to go to committee.

The history

Three applications for 13 to 15 homes on the eastern part of the land were refused, in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The 2017 one was also dismissed at appeal. The council could show a five-year housing land supply then, and it cannot now, the report says. That part of the land now has permission for a care home.

How to have your say

The meeting starts at 5.30pm on 3 November in the Council Chamber at Albery House, Springfield Road (agenda). Under the council’s rules (public speaking guidance):

  • you must register to speak by noon two working days before, which is noon on Friday 30 October
  • objectors get three minutes each, with nine minutes in total
  • supporters get the same
  • the parish council gets five minutes

To register, email CommitteeServices@horsham.gov.uk or call 01403 215465. Our guide to Horsham planning applications explains how to read the plans and comments on the council’s register.

What it means for you

If permission is granted, the developer still has to sign a legal agreement covering the affordable homes and contributions, within four months. The report lists a contribution towards real-time bus information at the Worthing Road bus stops. If the committee refuses, the applicant can appeal.