Following the decision of the Government’s Planning Inspector to cancel Horsham District Council’s Local Plan examination hearings because they needed further information, the Council has submitted this information and is now ready to proceed with the remaining examination sessions.
The Council believes that it will be able to carry out any necessary Local Plan updates within the Government's preferred six-month timescale. This means that there is a pathway open to the Inspector to resume the hearings and progress the current Plan.
The Council’s response to the Inspector also notes that the Government has recently published proposals for devolution which would result in the reorganisation of Local Government. Therefore, any requirement to prepare a new Local Plan will probably be impacted by these proposals. This would create a ‘planning policy vacuum’ which could last several years and is contrary to the Government’s aspirations for plan-led development.
It would also create considerable uncertainty and potential harm to local communities as a consequence of prolonged speculative developments.
The Council has yet to hear back from the Inspector regarding when we expect to hear more detail from him.
Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure Cllr Ruth Fletcher commented:
The cancellation of the examination hearings at such an early stage was very unexpected and comes with considerable risk for new housing development in Horsham District.
Any additional delay at this stage risks us having to prepare a revised Plan under the Government’s new rules which were announced during the examination hearings. These would leave us facing higher housing targets that are simply not deliverable because the environment is being harmed by increased demand for water supplies.
There has naturally been considerable interest from the community and stakeholders about the revised timescales of the examination. As a council we have done all we can to supply the extra information required by the Inspector and we are now waiting to hear back from him with a timetable for resuming the examination.
Documents are available to view in the Examination Library