West of Ifield 2,500-home development backed by planning inspector despite campaigners’ objections

Horsham District Council’s Local Plan ‘strikes the right balance’ when it comes to the proposed development West of Ifield, the Planning Inspector has said.

But campaigners opposed to the development have said they will continue to fight a 3,000-home planning application for the site, which was submitted by Homes England last year.

Following two weeks of hearings, Jonathan Bore wrote to the council setting out his early conclusions on the soundness and legal compliance of the Plan which covers 2023-40.

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Regarding the 2,500 homes allocated for West of Ifield, Mr Bore said there was no doubt it would change the character of this area.

But he added: “This must be weighed against the advantages of delivering a large amount of much-needed housing and affordable housing, and a range of community facilities, in a highly sustainable location next to Crawley.

“I consider that the Plan strikes the right balance.”

Speaking for campaign group Save West of Ifield, Fenella Maitland-Smith said they were “very disappointed”.

She added: “Of course this is not the outcome we wanted but we’re not surprised. We’re well aware that Horsham Council and the Inspector are under pressure to secure an adopted Local Plan as quickly as possible – a Plan which must meet an absurdly high housing target imposed on Horsham by central government.

“We’ve argued for years against these targets. But even if the council’s hands are tied in terms of total numbers, they are free to choose where to put the houses.

“But Horsham Council has never hidden its preference for the West of Ifield, which conveniently places thousands of houses on Crawley’s border and away from the majority of Horsham residents; a site where the impact will be almost entirely on Crawley residents, who will have no democratic say in the matter.

“So it was disappointing that the Inspector placed little weight on our arguments that the council’s site assessments were biased, not least because the impacts on Crawley were not considered.”

The loss of Ifield Golf Course – which is set to close in 2027, its centenary year – has been the cause of many objections. But Mr Bore felt the site of the development was large enough “to provide for significant amounts of open space and recreation”.

Looking at traffic, he said it would be “unrealistic” for the development to deliver the whole of the proposed western relief road.

And, while a number of junctions within Crawley are congested, he felt the evidence showed that, for the most part, the allocation of 2,500 more houses “would not make a significant difference to them”.

A technical consultation on a small number of modifications to the Local Plan will be held soon. Then Mr Bore will prepare his final report setting out any necessary changes to ensure the Plan is legally compliant and sound.

He expects this to be with the council early in the New Year.

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