Do what is right and save district
I very much appreciated Cllr John Milne keeping residents up-to-date in last week’s WSCT regarding the outcome of approaches to the Government Minister regarding the outrageous potential housing target for Horsham District. Unfortunately the news seemed very bad i.e. the Minister has apparently rejected all pleas and so the current target of 800 homes per year could ‘easily’ increase to a possible 1,400 homes per year by 2021 under an updated local plan.
Hopefully, in this week’s newspaper, we will finally get a full update from the Horsham District Council Leadership and senior Council Officers about their efforts and proposals with the explanations Government has given for rejection.
Readers will understand that such an increase would have been a huge ask, even without a pandemic with massive recessionary impact on our economy. We all know that developers only build-out developments at a rate that maintains their fat profits, yet councils are penalised by these housing shortfalls, over which they have almost no control.
So, now is the time for the leadership of Horsham District Council to stand up for Horsham and show us what they are made of.
National Planning Policy Guidance on housing need clearly states:
“Is the use of the standard method mandatory? No, if it is felt that circumstances warrant an alternative approach but authorities can expect this to be scrutinised more closely at examination”.
So what circumstances does council leader Ray Dawe feel are necessary in order to use an alternative approach? Is a global pandemic not enough, or do we need a nuclear war?
The responsibility for calculating and setting housing numbers rests solely with the council, albeit following policy and guidance. If it feels they will be too high using the ‘standard approach’ then they can propose an alternative but must be prepared to subsequently justify to a Planning Inspector.
The question really is, will our council leadership have the guts to do what they know is right to save our rural district?
The current situation has surely shown us all that doing the right thing, whatever the perceived difficulties, is more important than ever.
PAULKORNYCKY
Cox Green, Rudgwick