Labour’s attack on Local Plans will result in concreting over Horsham’s countryside

8 Jul 2025
Horsham Fields

Horsham District submitted its Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate on 26 July 2024, days after the general election, when the new Labour Government won a landslide majority.

On 30 July 2024, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, wrote to the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate. In his letter, he highlighted how the Planning Inspectorate had previously sought to “fix” plans at examination, but concluded that “this has to end.” Instead, Pennycock instructed the Planning Inspectorate to take “tough decisions” and attempted to place limits on the "pragmatism" used previously. In other words, ‘fail’ replaced ‘fix’. 

What has been the result of the new approach by the ‘independent’ Planning Inspectorate at the request of the Labour Government?

New research has found that, since the Labour government was elected, the majority of local plans submitted after the election have not been allowed to proceed past public hearings and have been found to be unsound.  Like Horsham, the majority of these plans have been stopped in their tracks by Inspectors at stage 1 for ‘failure to cooperate with neighbouring authorities’.  No plans in the South of England have been allowed to proceed, with three non-Labour authorities’ plans all failed under duty to cooperate. 

Some may argue that Duty to cooperate is the most effective way to tear up a plan, because it cannot be fixed retrospectively, unless you have a time machine.  A cynic may argue that by scuppering local plans, the Labour Government is allowing developers free rein to build anywhere, at will, without local consent.  

Sarah Ullmann, Chair of Horsham Lib Dems, commented,

“The Lib Dem leadership of HDC submitted a robust local plan, reviewed and signed off by independent specialists, and a pre-inspection by The Inspectorate, that raised no issues.”

“Rather than passing plans, like Horsham’s, formed by democratically elected local councillors, Labour wants to allow developers to concrete over Horsham’s countryside, without infrastructure or local consent. We believe in the right houses, in the right places, for you and your children. Labour believes in build, build, build, with no regard for the environment.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The 30 July 2024 letter from Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, can be read here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66aa157b0808eaf43b50dad5/minister-pennycook-to-chief-executive-of-planning-inspectorate.pdf

The progress of all Planning Inspectorate Local Plan examinations can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-plan-monitoring-progress.

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