Councillors Colette Blackburn, Mike Wood, Alex Jeffery and Peter van der Borgh during their election campaign in May 2023. Giving residents confidence that they oppose the planned development only to betray their promises of support just 7 months later. All voted in support of the HDC local plan for at least 1000 homes to be built in Southwater.
At the Extraordinary Horsham District Council meeting held on Monday 11 December, the Lib Dem controlled Council voted strongly in favour of the Draft Local Plan which was published late on Friday 1 December. Not good news, in fact the worst news for the village.
At the hearing ,which lasted for almost 5 hours, a number of Councillors asked why the plan was being put out before the imminent release of the detail of the government changes to national planning policy ( the NPPF – National Planning Policy Framework). In particular, anticipated changes in relation to the location of new housing and ancilliary development and changes to protect productive agricultural land against development, both highly pertinent to our district Plan. Ironically, our Parish Council when it approached HDC asking whether in view of the upcoming changes to proceed with updating the Southwater Neighbourhood plan was told to await the government changes to the NPPF. But HDC it appears decided that it was another rule for them and they proceeded regardless with approval of the District plan .
And guess what, yesterday (12 December) details of the government changes emerged – changes which could have huge implications for the location and scale of development in our district and in particular in Southwater and which could lead to substantial scaling down of government housing targets for the district, give significant protection against development on green spaces and agricultural land. Further detail is awaited but one has to seriously question why the Council was not prepared to wait, as they told our Parish council to do, for this detail to emerge.
But did our Councillors support us?
Very disappointingly all four of our recently elected Southwater District Councillors, who canvassed in the run up to the elections on the promise “to protect our countryside” and to “save our biodiverse green spaces” and only one of whom resides in the village/parish, spoke passionately about what a good plan it was and voted in favour of the plan. The same four Councillors who stood with SRS supporters for a photo opportunity in front of Beeson House, see photo These Councillors all know how strongly opposed the village is to further development in and around the village, or should have done if they had bothered to sound views in the village, and they also know that they could very easily have reflected the sentiments of the village by opposing the plan (without any risk to them or to their party that this would have affected the final result) or they could even have abstained from voting.
But no, they did not oppose or abstain. They chose instead to give their full support to the plan. Villagers might be excused for thinking this showed a very considerable degree of arrogance from our councillors, recently elected and largely non-resident, and entirely unaffected by the huge further development they intend, against the wishes of the majority of residents, to impose on the village. We have all learned a lesson, and a painful one, for the future when it comes to dealing with our elected District Councillors.
What next?
The plan remains a draft plan and can be commented on by the public during a six week consultation process which will start in mid-January. It is vital that as many residents as possible submit their views in this process as they did in the successful challenge to the Berkeley Homes 1500 homes application which attracted over 1300 objections. Following the consultation the plan will be reviewed by a government inspector at hearings at which the real views of the village, rather than those of our Councillors, can be put.
SRS will be closely involved in the consultation process and the inspector hearings and will keep residents informed on this website and on social media on how they can also participate and make their views known so watch this space!
In the meantime a very happy Christmas and good wishes for 2024 to all in the village and Parish.
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