Southwater 23 Homes at The Copse Refused Against Advice

Horsham District Council’s Planning Committee has refused plans for 23 homes on a field behind The Copse, Worthing Road, at the northern edge of Southwater. Its officers had recommended approval, and said so again on the night.

The decision was taken on Tuesday 3 November. The council published the minutes on Wednesday 11 November (Planning Committee minutes, 3 November 2026).

Why councillors said no

The committee gave one formal reason. The site is outside Southwater’s built-up area boundary and is not allocated for housing in any plan. The minutes put it this way:

“The provision of 23 homes in this location would therefore represent inappropriate development in the countryside.”

The refusal cites Policies 2, 4 and 26 of the adopted Horsham District Planning Framework, Policy 14 of the emerging Local Plan and the Southwater Neighbourhood Plan. It says the scheme does not show the “exceptional circumstances” national policy requires.

In the debate, councillors raised a wider set of concerns. According to the minutes, these included:

• overlooking and loss of privacy for existing neighbours
• the loss of green space, rural character and a wildlife corridor
• whether the access road was safe, and its effect on protected oak trees
• the combined effect with other schemes, including industrial units planned along the site’s northern edge
• pressure on roads, infrastructure and community facilities in a village already taking a lot of new housing
• the risk of setting a precedent beyond the village boundary

Only the countryside point made it into the formal reason.

What officers had advised

The officers’ report recommended approval because the council cannot show a five-year supply of land for housing (committee report). In that situation, national policy says housing next to a settlement should normally be approved.

An addendum published before the meeting updated that advice (officers’ addendum). The Local Plan inspector’s letter of 30 October had found the draft plan sound, subject to changes. Officers said the emerging plan should now carry “significant weight”. They also said:

• the district’s current housing land supply is “just 1.7 years”
• the adopted 2015 framework still governs the site until the new plan is adopted
• the recommendation to approve “remains as per the committee report”

One councillor proposed putting off the decision until the inspector’s final report arrives, due in January 2027. Nobody seconded it, so it fell. A motion to refuse was then proposed, seconded and carried. The minutes do not record the number of votes.

Who spoke

Two members of the public and Southwater Parish Council spoke against the scheme. The applicant and its agent spoke in favour. The applicant is Star Build Ltd. A ward member for Southwater South and Shipley also spoke.

The two councillors for Southwater North, Peter van der Borgh and Claire Vickers, did not vote, under the council’s rules on ward members. Councillor Vickers declared that she was a friend of one of the objectors. She left the chamber after making her statement.

Two more objections arrived after the report was written. They raised the effect on Willow Croft, the property to the south, and the plan to drain foul water through a private pumping station.

The minutes record the resolution against reference DC/25/2057. The application on the agenda, the report and the addendum all carry the reference DC/26/0355.

What it means for you

This was the fourth application to build on the land. Plans for 13 to 15 homes on its eastern part were refused in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and one of them also lost at appeal. Our report before the meeting has the full scheme and the earlier history.

The applicant can appeal against the refusal to the Planning Inspectorate.

The wider field to the west is a draft Local Plan site for about 1,000 homes, under a separate application, DC/26/0366. This refusal does not decide that one. You can follow both on the council’s planning register.