Planning Policy

Planning Policies are documents that help to decide how, where and when development in Horsham District takes place. These documents are used to help make decisions on planning applications and to plan the future needs of the district by assessing what changes are likely to happen and where.

The key Planning Policy document that a council must prepare is its Local Plan.  The current Local Plan is known as the Horsham District Planning Framework (HDPF).  The Council has recently prepared a new Local Plan to replace the HDPF, this will be called the 'Horsham District Local Plan 2023-2040'.  Full details of each stage of the review can be viewed on the Local Plan webpage.

LATEST NEWS: 29 July 2025 - At the Communities and Place Policy and Scrutiny Committee Meeting on 23 July 2025, it was agreed that the Council would write to the Planning Inspectorate to ask them to reconsider their position on the Local Plan in view of the imminent changing planning regulations which will repeal the Duty to Co-operate.  In order to provide sufficient time to write to the Planning Inspectorate and then report back any response, the item has been postponed until the Cabinet meeting on 17 September 2025.

21 July 2025 - A draft Cabinet report The Horsham District Local Plan Next Steps, recommending withdrawal of the emerging local plan (HDLP), has now been published on the agenda for the Communities and Place Policy and Scrutiny Committee on 23 July.  The report also appends the proposed Statement of Withdrawal and the draft guidance note Shaping Development in Horsham District Planning Advice Note.  Please note that no decision has been made, it will be for the Council's Cabinet to decide on these matters on 6 August 2025.