56 The Horsham Society Newsletter July 2012 New Street. Even in those days, people from far and curred in 1999, when my mother along with some wide wanted to live in Horsham. The second airman other neighbours sold parts of their gardens to a came from Wigan and he became great friends with developer for the construction of housing leading off my family. He, his family and even his parents used to Elgar Way. visit us in the summer for many years in the post war I always find it quite strange how often you period. I am still in contact with his daughter, who come across other people, who’ve lived in Horsham July 2012 now lives in Milton Keynes. The third airman came all their life but who you probably don’t know all from Falkirk. He and his family used to visit us and that well. Pat Gale, the Society’s Membership Secre- we used to visit them after the war and I can remem- tary is one such example. I first met Pat, when my ber travelling by train to and from Scotland. On VE sons went to St Mary’s school near the parish Day, we had a children’s party with trestle tables set church. I then recently found out that Pat used to be Consultation overload but is anyone listening? up in the field opposite our house. It was an unforget- a regular visitor to my current home because her table experience. Granny lived there. Isn’t life strange? by John Steele By the time of the death of King George VI in Over the past few months Horsham Council has been consulting on three critical documents which 1952, television was still a novelty and I can remem- between them will determine the future of our town over the next 20 years. ber watching the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on We have long argued that the Council needs to develop a vision for the town to guide future develop- our next door neighbours’ small TV in black and ment and the draft Horsham Town Plan which has been under development for many months seeks to white. The days of the large screen TVs and colour provide one. We are pleased that the latest version takes some account of the comments the Society transmissions were a long way off. made at earlier stages. By 1960, the area started to change with the You may have seen references in the local papers to some of the wackier ideas including turning building of the Beech Road housing estate in the Albion Way into a continental-style boulevard and the possibility, now dropped, of reintroducing traffic fields opposite our house. Even more changes oc- into West Street. But there is much more to the plan than that. uch of the appeal of our town centre So, that’s good news all round then? Unfortu- M derives from its origins as a market nately not. The sting is in the second of the current town. Although many people lament the number of consultation papers, the draft Broadbridge Heath coffee shops and restaurants their success demon- Quadrant Planning Brief. This has been slipped out The Horsham Society is an independent body supported by members’ strates a reassuring underlying resilience to chang- by HDC alongside the more loudly trumpeted consul- Subscriptions, a registered charity (No 268949) and affiliated to the ing times and fashion. We still have our niche tation on the future of Broadbridge Heath Leisure Campaign to Protect Rural England It is a member of the English Historic Towns Forum small traders and new names are joining our high Centre. street. The BH Planning Brief (and its associated valua- PRESIDENT: Dr Annabelle Hughes In the years ahead, however, there will be more tion report) proposes that this area which includes the VICE-PRESIDENTS: significant change, particularly at the west end of present leisure centre, Tesco, the small trading estate Rt Hon Francis Maude MP, Nigel Friswell, John Steele, Roy Worskett the town centre where there will be opportunities and the County Council depot (most of which is CHAIRMAN VICE-CHAIRMAN for large scale redevelopment, both to capitalise on owned by HDC or WSCC) should be allocated for David Moore Ian Dockreay underused land and replace some of the buildings mixed retail, leisure, residential, hotel and restaurant, 99b Swindon Road 24 Wimblehurst Road Horsham RH12 6HF Horsham RH12 2ED put up in the 1970s. What matters is how this is development, including significant expansion of Tel: 01403 261640 Tel: 01403 241582 managed and what form it will take. If as expected Tesco’s store and car parking. Although it also states [email protected] it includes a new large store and other modern that any development must not detract from the vital- Hon TREASURER Hon SECRETARY shopping units we must ensure that these comple- ity and viability of the town centre it is, in our view, Roy Bayliss Rod Cuming ment the existing shopping areas and do not unbal- inconceivable that development of this type and scale 15 Patchings 3 White Horse Road Lewis Bryan Horsham RH13 5HU Horsham RH12 4UL ance the town. would not do so. Tel: 01403 262262 Tel: 01403 268444 The Council’s vision for the town is one that In our response we have said that we believe the [email protected] MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY reflects the Society’s view: a distinctive destination Planning Brief is designed more to increase the value Mrs Pat Gale DISTRIBUTION ORGANISER of choice; commercially vibrant with a sensitive of publicly owned land than meet the future needs of 46 Bedford Road Kathy Gleeson Horsham RH13 5BJ 13 Millthorpe Road balance between independent niche shops and high Broadbridge Heath or Horsham town. We have Tel: 01403 253946 Roffey RH12 4ER street names; an enhanced leisure and evening stressed that it contravenes the ‘town centre first’ [email protected] Tel: 01403 210511 economy; a hub for culture and the creative arts; policies of the new national planning framework and Horsham Society Website: www.horshamsociety.org and protecting and enhancing the town’s attractive the Council’s own draft town plan. Instead we have SUBSCRIPTION RATES historic townscape and pleasant green character. suggested that the brief should require any new devel- Individuals: £5 per year Single Pensioner: £3.25 per year Plus, and this is critical, a firm ‘town centre first’ opment to concentrate on providing for the local Family Membership: £7.50 per year Family Pensioner: 5 per year Businesses: £10 per year Single Life Membership: £100 approach to retail development. Without this the needs of Broadbridge Heath after the completion of Family Life Membership: £150 future success of our local retail economy would be the new housing development and should explicitly £5 postage is added to the above rates for out-of-town members in jeopardy. Correspondence and other Newsletter matters should be sent to the Editor, 2 Millais, Horsham RH13 6BS (Tel: 01403 261905), E-mail: © Individual contributors 2012. No material may be repro- [email protected]. Other communications should go to duced, copied or stored in a retrieval system without prior the Hon Secretary. The Newsletter is published monthly except consent of the relevant contributor, which should be August and opinions in it are not necessarily those of the Society. sought via the Editor. OUR CONCERN IS THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE TOWN 50 The Horsham Society Newsletter July 2012 The Horsham Society Newsletter July 2012 55 rule out any further expansion of the existing super- come into his possession during his time in Mesopo- was in Queens Street. There were bunches of artifi- market. From the committee tamia, cial bananas lying in the window. I always wanted Unless HDC changes its mind the Planning When my parents married in 1935, they bought to try a real one! It was fun going into Hunt Bros Membership leaflet Brief will completely undermine all the good inten- a house in Forest Road, which was then part of a and Chart and Lawrence as it was fascinating to A new membership leaflet has been designed and it tions of its town plan. We must wait and see how it new housing development in the area. I’m sure that watch the money whizzing along the overhead wire should be ready for introduction during the autumn responds to the points we have made. people were just as worried about the knock on system to the cash desk. of this year. Finally, there is the third consultation on the effects of all the housebuilding in Horsham at that Mid-week, Mrs Bain from the grocer’s in Rof- East Street future of the BH Leisure Centre. Here the Council time in the same way as we are now. I was born just fey Village would call in the morning for an order, There has been no progress on the introduction of is trying to restrict consultation to only four of nine before the outbreak of World War Two. The house which was delivered by Mr Bain either later in the the core closing of East Street to traffic despite the options considered by its consultants. There has had a very large garden with lawns front and back, afternoon or on the next day. Then of course, there fact that it was supposed to happen at the end of been so much coverage in the local Press that every- shrubs, a vegetable garden, fruit bushes and trees. was school. From the age of five, I went to All April. The reason for the delay will be followed up one will no doubt have their own views.