2022-07-22 11:57:09 +0100
To: Horsham District Council Planning Department
SAVE RURAL SOUTHWATER
UPDATED - February 2026
Berkeley Homes have prepared a proposal to build 1,000 houses, schools, shops, leisure facilities and a traveller site on farmland North and West of Southwater. The proposal outline can be viewed at https://www.southwaterconsultation.co.uk/
Significant New Development — A Fresh Chance to Fight Back:
In a major development, Horsham District Council has been required to re-open the examination of its 2023–2040 Local Plan from scratch, with a newly appointed Planning Inspector, Jonathan Bore, taking a completely fresh approach. This is not simply a continuation of the previous process — it is a full re-examination, and that matters enormously for Southwater.
The re-examination will take place in two stages. Stage One, scheduled for April 2026, will focus on housing requirements for the district. Stage Two, in September 2026, will then consider the strategic approach and specific development sites — including the proposed 1,000 homes for Southwater.
This re-examination gives our community a real and meaningful opportunity to challenge this development. Because housing numbers must be determined before site allocations, there is now a critical window at Stage One to argue that the overall housing requirement is too high. If the numbers are reduced, the case for building 1,000 homes on unsustainable greenfield farmland on the edge of Southwater becomes much harder to justify.
Southwater is a village with already stretched infrastructure — roads, schools, GP services and public transport are under significant pressure. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires that development be sustainable, and we believe a development of this scale on this site fails that test. The democratically adopted Southwater Parish Council Plan does not support a development of this size, and that must carry weight.
Save Rural Southwater will be working hard to ensure that these arguments are heard loud and clear at both stages of the examination. We will be communicating with our supporters and the wider Southwater community on exactly how you can get involved, respond formally, and help make the case against this proposal.
This is our opportunity — and we intend to use it. More information and regular updates can be found at
https://www.saveruralsouthwater.org/
https://www.facebook.com/SaveRuralSouthwater
https://www.saveruralsouthwater.org/
https://www.facebook.com/SaveRuralSouthwater
Feel free to contact us @ [email protected]
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UPDATED - March 2023 - The Berkeley Homes application for development of 1500 houses, a school, shops, leisure facilities and a traveller site on farmland North and West of Southwater , submitted in October 2022 was withdrawn in February. Over 1350 individual objections were submitted directly to Horsham District Council, however, this is likely to be a temporary reprieve pending publication of the delayed updated Horsham District Plan which is now expected in the second half of 2023.
Why is this important?
The delayed draft District Plan, which was prepared and recommended for adoption by HDC planning officers, massively extended the Built Up Area Boundary of Southwater Village to include farmland and ancient woodlands between Worthing Road and Two Mile Ash Road right up to the A24, providing for a minimum of 1200 new homes, employment and community facilities. The draft plan acknowledged, but totally ignored the wishes and needs of the community as expressed in the democratically consulted on, approved and adopted Southwater Neighbourhood Plan. It imposed a hugely greater development burden on the village which has been subjected to non-stop development and expansion since the 1980's and would more than quadruple the village boundary over that period.
So there remains a significant risk that the HDC draft plan, when it is published later this year, will retain in some form, the 'strategic allocation' of this land. For decades, Southwater has been used by HDC as a convenient dumping ground for its housing trgets.
This is why we say to HDC "Enough is Enough". Respect the housing cap in the Southwater Neighbourhood Plan for the full period of the District Plan, to 2039.
If you have not already done so please sign the petition and encourage your neighbours and friends to do so. Every signature counts.
So there remains a significant risk that the HDC draft plan, when it is published later this year, will retain in some form, the 'strategic allocation' of this land. For decades, Southwater has been used by HDC as a convenient dumping ground for its housing trgets.
This is why we say to HDC "Enough is Enough". Respect the housing cap in the Southwater Neighbourhood Plan for the full period of the District Plan, to 2039.
If you have not already done so please sign the petition and encourage your neighbours and friends to do so. Every signature counts.
