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Parish Council News
Ashington Parish Council
Neighbourhood Plan update
I said to a resident the other day that the neighbourhood plan is possibly the hardest project I’ve ever worked on. That opinion was reinforced last week when the Horsham District Council (HDC) local plan review documents were published. For 4 years we have diligently tried to plan for the future of the village, fully aware that HDC are facing significant challenges with housing numbers but with agreement from them on housing numbers that are ‘appropriate’ for Ashington (225 homes) in the lifetime of the neighbourhood plan. A higher number than some residents were comfortable with but enough, we understood, to deliver our ‘fair share’ of the District need. Our draft neighbourhood plan not only delivered the homes in the most sustainable locations but would also deliver actual community benefits in terms of
public land, more community sports facilities, flood relief scheme for Mill Lane, protection from development for Forest Schools and the school’s allotment land. Proper planning for the village. Usually developers just hand over money so that someone else can deliver community infrastructure – somewhere random, eventually, possibly. The HDC local plan review is now consulting on an additional 400 homes on top of the neighbourhood plan number. That’s 600 in total, >50% increase for the village and the additional 400 are to satisfy a housing need in the ‘south of the District’. As it stands, we have more questions than answers regarding the future of Ashington and the draft neighbourhood plan. The Parish Council will be meeting HDC as a matter of urgency. The local plan review document is for consultation only and none of the proposals in the document are HDC policy, yet. It is therefore crucial that residents let HDC know about the issues the additional housing numbers may raise. Residents can make their opinions known to HDC here: horsham.gov.uk/planning/local-plan/have-your-say Email: clerk@ashingtonpc.org.uk Tel: 07851 009655 www.ashingtonpc.org.uk
