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Public Hearing For Plan
Southwater residents may be interested to know that a public hearing has been ordered by the Independent Examiner of the Parish Council's proposed Neighbourhood Plan (NP), to be held on Friday 28th February from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. at Southwater Leisure Centre. The Examiner has explained that, though neighbourhood plan examinations are normally conducted on the basis of written representations only, having however considered the draft Plan, its supporting evidence base and the representations submitted during last year's consultation, he considers that a public hearing will be necessary to ensure the adequate examination of a number of the issues raised. Although Horsham District Council (HDC) will be sending invitations to specific 'interested parties', ordinary members of the public can attend the hearing without prior invitation and will also have the opportunity to speak (subject to the Examiner's agreement and sufficient time being available).
Readers may be aware that the draft NP (Policy SNP2.1) proposes to allow up to 450 new houses to be built on Great House Farm land – which by putting the Farm out of business would inevitably open the way for the 1200 or more new homes now being proposed for Southwater in HDC's local (ie. district) plan review. These 1200 additional homes have in fact been ‘proposed’ to HDC by Berkeley Homes Ltd (BH), and though Great House Farm’s owner, the Aubrey Fletcher Trust, has already received a reported £36 million from the sale of Farm land to BH for its current housing developments, tenant farmer Barry
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Charman faces eviction (most certainly if the draft NP is approved in a referendum of Southwater voters). Notwithstanding the threat to the survival, not only of Southwater’s most important heritage asset, (the Grade II* Listed) Great House Farmhouse, but also of Courtland Wood Local Wildlife Site (at a time when we are all supposed to be more environmentally aware), some might welcome yet more major house-building in the Parish, in the belief that it would provide affordable new homes for local families. However, the evidence of current BH developments in Southwater might lead them to question the extent to which the proposed housebuilding will in fact provide such homes, as the bulk of such ‘affordable’ (rented/part-buy) housing as has been built has taken the form of one- and twobedroom flats rather than houses for families. It is therefore to be asked whether housebuilding on the scale proposed can be justified simply in order to provide yet more ‘executive’ homes for London commuters, though at the expense of existing residents’ quality of life, in terms of the resultant loss of green space, worsened air quality, increased traffic congestion and pressure on schools, sewage disposal and other services and infrastructure.
What is proposed for Southwater is detailed (as a ‘strategic housing allocation’) in HDC’s consultation on its local (district) plan review, on which residents’ views are now being sought, and help on how to respond – before 30th March! - may be found on Keep Southwater Green's Facebook page www.facebook.com/keepsouthwatergreen and website www.keepsouthwatergreen.org.uk .
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