DID YOU KNOW?
Key facts you might not know about living in the Horsham District and about Horsham District Council.
The Horsham District
- Area - 205 square miles/530 square kilometres
- Horsham town, 23 villages plus lots of countryside
- Population - 125,800
- Electorate (voters) - 98,800
- Households - 55,000
- Businesses - approx 3,000
Horsham District Council
- The Council's mission is 'Working in partnership to secure a better quality of life for all'
44 elected District Councillors - Political control: Conservative (30 Conservatives, 12 Liberal Democrats, 2 Independents)
549 staff (headed by a paid Chief Executive) - The Council is ranked nationally as an 'Excellent Council' by the Audit Commission
- We work closely with West Sussex County Council, other councils and all parish and neighbourhood councils and other partners
Horsham District Council finances
- Gross revenue budget 07/08 is £57.192 million
- Net revenue budget 07/08 is £14.393 million
- Capital budget 2007-11 is £20.4 million
- District Council tax 07/08 (average Band D home) is £ 125.19 (£ 2.41 per week) - figure excludes Police, County Council, Parish Councils and other special items
- Our District Council tax is amongst the lowest around despite receiving a low Government grant
- Only 10% of overall council tax bill collected goes to Horsham District Council
What do we do?
We are the District Council for the Horsham District
Your councillors decide and - with our staff - enable and deliver many services:
- Planning
- Local Development Framework (spatial land use planning)
- Housing advice/housing need/homelessness
- Leisure Services
- Community Development
- Community safety
- Environmental Health
- Waste, recycling, cleansing
- Economic Development
- We run elections and the electoral register
- Monitoring of Council standards and legal services
- Council tax collection
- We administer benefits e.g. Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit
- We are assisted by ICT/communications and other back office functions
- We strategically manage many essential parts of District life
- We deliver community projects and generate income in so doing e.g. Blackhorse Way, Horsham and Southwater's new centre
- We plough all of this income and property agreement benefits back into the District and Council services, keeping District council tax levels low
- We act as a community leader e.g. voicing the need for a new hospital, a civic figurehead in times of celebration & crisis
- We plan for emergencies/disasters in the local area
- And lots more
Our customers
Amongst our many customers are:
- Our council tax payers and their families
- Users of the Council's services e.g. The Capitol in Horsham
- All local businesses
- Visitors and tourists
- Our councillors, staff and volunteers - existing and potential
- Our many partners e.g. Sussex Police, West Sussex Primary Care Trust, other councils and government offices, the voluntary sector, public services plus many more
- Key influencers e.g. government representatives
- Investors and potential investors
- All local media
How are decisions made?
The full Council meets regularly and debates and decides key issues. The Cabinet (made up of representatives of the leading political group) often proposes these decisions and makes many important ones. A number of committees support this work or have their own role in decision making (such as Development Control and Licensing). The Scrutiny Committee has an overview of the Council's work, whilst the Standards Committee ensures standards are met. The public is welcome to attend and speak at meetings. Please call (01403) 215465 for more information.
Who is your District Councillor?
Residents are encouraged to get in touch with their District Councillor about any local issue. To find out who this is, please call (01403) 215465 or look on the Members page.
Key contacts
- Leader of the Council (political) - Cllr Liz Kitchen
- Chairman of the Council (civic) - Cllr John Bailey
- Leader of the Liberal Democrats - Cllr Sally Horner
- Chief Executive - Tom Crowley
- General enquiries & emergencies - (01403) 215100
- Email: contact@horsham.gov.uk
- Main offices: Park North, North Street, Horsham RH12 1RL
Leader's Online Questions
Residents in the Horsham District have direct access to the Leader of Horsham District Council through the Council's website.
Anyone can direct their questions to the Leader of the Council, Cllr Liz Kitchen, for an answer to any subject.