Our town needs its own council

For some time my opinion has been that Horsham town needs to have its own council.

My concerns have been accelerated because of the discussion of the potential of Rookwood Golf Course for housing.

In the early 1970s Horsham Urban District Council and Horsham Rural District Councils were dissolved and merged into what is now Horsham District Council.

The result was and still is to this day that Horsham town does not have a town council.

Horsham Urban District Council has effectively been replaced by what is North Horsham Parish Council and three Neighbourhood Councils, Denne, Forest and Trafalgar.

How and why this was allowed to happen puzzles and dismays me. Why are Denne, Forest and Trafalgar Neighbourhood Councils not represented by parish councils or equivalent?

The three neighbourhood councils have no powers and can only make comments, recommendations and advise on any issues and decisions.

Within the present boundary of Horsham town the elected councillor breakdown is that we have ten Liberal Democrats and six Conservatives.

For the whole of the Horsham District the party breakdown is 32 Conservatives, 12 Liberal Democrats, two Greens and one Independent.

From these numbers it can be seen that within the

Horsham town boundary there is a Liberal Democratic majority, but in the greater Horsham District there is a dominant Conservative majority.

It is my view that when decisions are made they pretty much follow party lines. Therefore I believe that decisions that affect Horsham town will be determined by councillors representing the outlying parish councils and not by the people of Horsham town.

The result is that the concerns of the residents of Horsham town over, for example, Rookwood Golf Course will not have the impact that they deserve and will not be fully listened to and taken into consideration by councillors representing the parish councils that are naturally concerned with their own issues and will be led by the Conservative run council. Put bluntly they will follow the party ‘whip’.

What directly impacts Horsham town and its residents deserves a fully democratic voice. We need North Horsham Parish Council and the three neighbourhood councils brought into a fully constituted town council with elected representatives.

A town the size of Horsham with a population of approximately 70,000 needs a democratic forum that allows the people of Horsham to make their own decisions. I have absolutely no wish for the people of Horsham town to influence for example the people of Steyning to make their own decisions through their parish council as I would not want them to make decisions on those that affect Horsham town.

There would be a financial cost, but the people of Horsham town need and deserve their own counciI.

I appreciate that this is a subject that will prompt many views and reactions. IANBOTTING Hills FarmLane,

Horsham