Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Ref No. Transport SPT17(09/10) Response to Horsham District Council Local Development Framework: Core Strategy Review - 'Leading Change in Partnership to 2026 and Beyond' consultation Key Decision: No Part I Report by the Director of Operations – Electoral Infrastructure and the Divisional Manager of Local Divisions: All Development Horsham divisions Executive Summary The adopted Horsham District Council Core Strategy sets out a framework for planning the future of the District, including how the District Council intends to meet the Governments requirements for development for the period to 2018. The District Council now needs to review the Core Strategy and look even further ahead in light of the South East Plan being approved earlier in the year. The first stage of the review process is the consultation document ‘Leading Change in Partnership to 2026 and Beyond’, which sets out some of the key issues in planning the future of the District and options for how they can be addressed and how the District Council’s development requirements can be met. A number of potential strategic development sites are identified for consideration. The District Council does not have a preferred strategy at this stage, and the final decision as to where to accommodate the necessary growth could involve a combination of the suggested site options. After consideration of the responses to this consultation the District Council will produce a draft Core Strategy which will identify which option for growth they think best meets the needs of the District to 2026, together with a strategy for delivering it. This draft Core Strategy Review will contain the necessary policies to deliver the chosen option, and will explain in broad detail the infrastructure required to support it, together with the costs, identification of the delivery partners and how this growth will be phased. This next draft will be known as the Preferred Strategy document, and will be subject to a further six week period of public consultation in Spring 2010. It is anticipated that the Core Strategy Review will be adopted in late 2011, thereby making any resulting development unlikely to occur until 2013 at the earliest. There are a number of concerns that need to be addressed within the emerging Core Strategy Review. There would be highway capacity and safety concerns if more than one of the suggested Site Options in the Horsham and Crawley corridor were to be permitted i.e. West of Ifield, Faygate, North Horsham and Chesworth Farm; and sustainability issues about the Adversane/North Heath option because of its remoteness from other settlements and about the increase in traffic generated by a development of this scale on the A29 road. Other 1 matters concern a possible strategic ecological objection regarding Strategic Site Option 1; that Strategic Site Option 3 may prejudice the continued operation of an existing waste landfill site and any future waste uses; that Strategic Site Option 8 may raise an archaeological objection (for part of the site) plus require major education investment. Additionally, at this early stage, there is a strategic landscape objection due to development on green field sites for all of the Strategic Site Options. However, if it is accepted that the use of greenfield land is necessary, then some sections of these Strategic Site Options could be developed without major impact in the landscape subject to the provision of associated mitigation measures. Finally, there are issues relating to how historic environment policy matters plus those dealing with affordable housing in villages have been handled in the current Core Strategy. There may be scope to address these in the review. Generally, the County Council is keen that any proposed development makes the best use of existing and planned infrastructure, meets the economic and social needs of local communities, is located outside areas of flood or other risks, and provides for travel by sustainable means. Continued partnership between West Sussex County Council service providers and Horsham District will be essential to ensure that services can be delivered alongside housing growth. Specific comments concerning the matters mentioned above, plus other technical points concerning the consultation and background documents are set out in Appendix A to this report. This report seeks to highlight matters of concern and interest to the County Council regarding this consultation. Ultimately, it will be for Horsham District Council, and its partners, to determine which of the various options best meets their future needs. Recommendation That the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport approves this report and the accompanying comments set out in Appendix A as the County Council’s response to the consultation. 1. Background 1.1 The Government approved the South East Plan (Regional Spatial Strategy) in May this year, which sets out new development requirements from 2006 to 2026. As a result, Horsham District Council now needs to review its currently adopted Core Strategy, which sets out a framework for planning the future of the District, including how it intends to meet the Government’s requirements for development. 1.2 The first stage in the process of preparing the Core Strategy Review has now begun. The document entitled ‘Leading Change in Partnership to 2026 and Beyond’ was published for consultation on 4 September 2009. The document sets out some of the key issues in planning the future of the District and some options for how the development requirements can be met. Although there are many issues that need to be considered to plan for the long term future of the District, the District Council recognises that there will inevitably 2 be a focus on development options and new housing development in particular. 1.3 The vision and key issues have been prepared taking account of national, regional (the adopted South East Plan), existing adopted Local Development Framework (LDF) policies / strategies and community engagement. The main issue for Horsham District is the need to provide 13,000 new homes from 2006 until 2026 as required by the South East Plan. 1.4 The District Council has identified four possible ways, called Strategic Spatial Options, in which the required development could be brought forward: • Spread Development Throughout the District – creating a relatively balanced distribution of housing and economic growth, within environmental limits, whilst taking account of the sub-regional requirements within the District. • Focus Development on the Main/Most Sustainable Existing Settlements – concentrating housing and economic development in locations that are most accessible, as a form of ‘urban extension’. • Concentrate Development in Each Sub-Region within a New Settlement – exploring the potential for a new market town in the Gatwick Sub-Region jointly with neighbouring Authorities and for a new village in the Rest of the District. • A Hybrid Option – a combination of the any or all of the above options, dependent on the practical delivery requirements in both the shorter and longer terms, as well as the environmental and infrastructure planning considerations. 1.5 Further to the four general options, the District Council has identified the following nine potential Strategic Site Options across the District to meet the South East Plan requirements: The Gatwick Sub-Region part of the District: There are 6 strategic locations where development could be considered as options for the future planning of this part of the District (they are not indicated in any order of preference): 1. West of Ifield 2. Faygate 3. North Horsham – Holbrook Park 4. North Horsham – Chennells Brook 5. South Horsham – Chesworth Farm 6. West of Southwater Rest of the District: There are 3 main options for development to meet the housing requirements for the rest of the District outside the Gatwick Sub-Region (they are not indicated in any order of preference): 7. East of Billingshurst 8. Adversane/North Heath 3 9. Pulborough Expansion 1.6 The consultation document sets out a series of opportunities and constraints for each of these Strategic Site Options. Additionally, the site options are discussed in more detail in two accompanying background documents – ‘Potential Strategic Site Option Appraisals, September 2009’ and ‘Key Delivery Stakeholder Position Statements, September 2009’. 1.7 Within each of the component parts of the District there are a number of combinations of options which could be pursued in order to meet the identified housing requirements; some combinations of options would be likely to concentrate development too much into particular locations and hence would put undue pressure on the infrastructure and the delivery of the potential development. Other options when combined may deliver more development than is actually required at the present time, albeit that the housing requirements are not intended to be maximum figures or a constraint on appropriate development. 1.8 This consultation ends on the 16th October 2009. After consideration of the responses to this consultation the District Council will produce a draft Core Strategy which will identify which option for growth they think best meets the needs of the District to 2026, together with a strategy for delivery. This draft Core Strategy will also contain the necessary policies to deliver the chosen, or preferred, option, and will explain in broad detail the infrastructure required to support it, together