82 homes deferred in Southwater

Plans to build up to 82 homes in Southwater have been deferred by Horsham District Council.

The outline application from Miller Homes Ltd for land at Campsfield, in Linfield Close, was discussed by the planning committee on Tuesday (September 2).

Members had concerns about a number of issues such as water neutrality, the access to the site via Centenary Road, and the sheer impact that this and previously approved developments would have on traffic.

Some 1,300 homes have been approved in the area but are yet to be built, with another 1,000 or so likely to follow once the new Local Plan gets on its feet.

Claire Vickers (Con, Southwater North) received unanimous support after proposing that further comment was needed from West Sussex Highways about the cumulative impact of such numbers.

The deferral also called for information about choosing a different access point for construction traffic, and for information about water neutrality safeguards.

The site sits outside the Southwater Neighbourhood Plan area and would essentially be an extension of the Mulberry Fields development immediately to the north. It is currently home to a fuel-crop plantation of Poplar saplings, which are at least 25 years old.

The council received objections from 42 addresses as well as one from Southwater Parish Council.

Parish councillor Jeffrey Villis said the development would have an ‘unacceptable impact on our community’. He added that only having one road in and out of the site was a ‘critical flaw, especially for emergency services’.

The parish council also felt that too many two-bedroom homes were proposed and not enough one-bedroom.

Such things are finalised later in the process but indications were that 22 homes would have two bedrooms while 14 would have one, 30 would have three, and 16 would have four. Some 29 homes would be classed as affordable.

Alex Jeffery (Lib Dem, Southwater South & Shipley), who is not a member of the committee, said the development would be ‘yet another violation of the built-up area boundary of Southwater’.

The council only has a one-year supply of housing land rather than the five years required, so the scales are tilted in favour of sustainable development.

But Mr Jeffery questioned the sustainability given the noise levels which would impact the homes from the A24.

The council’s environmental health team reported concerns that noise levels would be higher than the British Standard, day and night, if people opened their windows.

Mr Jeffery said: “How can any proposal possibly be taken seriously when windows would have to be kept shut to ensure compliance with acceptable noise levels?

“This is yet further evidence that the proposal as has been presented is unacceptable, unworkable and frankly absurd.”

Officers pointed out that this was also an issue for later in the process. An outline application only asks the committee to decide in principle if the site was suitable for the development.

To view the application, log onto public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/25/0102.