Horsham Liberal Democrats remain committed to securing a Local Plan for the benefit of the entire district to meet tough housing Government targets

Horsham Liberal Democrats were elected in 2023 on a manifesto pledge to end ‘Tory planning chaos’ after the district was left at the will of speculative developers and haphazard planning applications.

While the goalposts set by the Government and Planning Inspectorate have kept moving, the Lib Dem-led administration and councillors at Horsham District Council (HDC) have continued to respond to the legal requirement to deliver a new Local Plan.

Since the plan was first submitted in July 2024, the district has seen Water Neutrality restrictions scrapped and increased housing targets under the Labour Government’s new planning framework. The Planning Inspectorate attempted to fail Horsham and Mid Sussex’s emerging local plans, like many others, under Labour’s new policy. Lobbying by local authorities, including Horsham, led to a U-turn on plans like Horsham's to restart local plan examination hearings.

However, the new Planning Inspector was open about higher housing targets at the recent hearings and stated that the district’s Local Plan would need to provide additional sites to meet Government targets. Despite recent speculative permissions counting towards Horsham District’s new higher housing target, a Local Plan is vital to stop unplanned speculative additional sites.

Horsham Liberal Democrats commented:

“The Lib Dem-run administration at HDC has not flinched from the mandate it was given by voters to end the ‘Tory-planning chaos’ and has since stood up to Labour’s attempts to scupper Local Plans, including Horsham District’s Local Plan.

“Our Liberal Democrat councillors are willing to make the hard decisions in the wider interest of our whole district. This demonstrates good local leadership because decisions have to be made on new sites to meet the Government and Planning Inspector’s demand for greater housing numbers.

“Horsham Lib Dems have remained committed and open about the need for an adopted Local Plan, to prevent developers from having the upper hand and profiting from haphazard housing developments, that lack infrastructure.”