Vote against homes location

Homes England seem keen to convince everyone that the greenfield space that lies wholly in Rusper parish is really just an extension of Crawley Town and has no environmental value and is the perfect place to build up to 10,000 new houses.

The ‘West of Ifield’ label is there to convince Horsham district councillors that this is a good place to put all of the thousands of unwanted and unneeded houses being forced on them by central Government.

The land in question – the East of Rusper – is an important rural area with ancient woodland and important flood plain areas along the river Mole.

It provides a very diverse habitat for a wealth of flora and fauna.

It is populated by rare bats, insects, birds and small invertebrates as well as the wide variety of wildlife common throughout rural Sussex and Surrey.

The land falls within the wider Low Weald Hills and Low Weald Northern Vales areas. The WSCC landscape character assessment, states that we should: “Conserve the rural quality of the area including the pattern of the agricultural landscape, the intricate patchwork of small scale fields, and linked woodland, and the intimate and unobtrusive settlement pattern found throughout much of the area.”

The Homes England proposal starts by removing a key recreational and landscape feature of the area, by building on Ifield Golf Course as part of their first phase. There is no evidence that the golf course is not needed and no attempt to provide any alternative facilities for the local community. It completely ignores the wildlife habitats that have been created here with the planting of thousands of trees over the years.

Horsham has, within its existing plan (Horsham District planning Framework – HDPF), already identified the local housing need and through the National Inspector’s review added in additional housing to support others. It has allocated strategic sites to meet that need for the next 12 years at least.

Since then, the Government has forced significant additional numbers of houses on Horsham district with no clear justification.

If the new Homes England proposal for ‘East of Rusper’ goes ahead, this will be within the same landscape area that separates Crawley and Horsham as the other two major development areas at Kilnwood Vale (South Rusper) and North Horsham (SouthWest Rusper) within the existing HDPF.

Rusper Parish Council has just completed the Rusper Neighbourhood Plan for this area. If the Homes England proposal becomes an adopted part of the new Horsham Local Plan, it will completely undermine the whole basis of the Rusper Neighbourhood Plan before it even begins!

Rusper Parish Council calls upon all Horsham District Councillors to vote against this site being included.

GEORGE SALLOWS

Chairman of planning, Rusper Parish Council