Drop-in sessions held on Nuthurst Parish Council’s Neighbourhood Plan

Nuthurst Parish Council has set up a 12-strong steering committee made up of three councillors and nine residents from Copsale, Mannings Heath, Maplehurst, Monks Gate, Nuthurst and Sedgewick.

Volunteers held two public consultation drop in sessions last week in Nuthurst and Mannings Heath, and a surgery session in Copsale.

Display boards were set up for visitors to look at, and volunteers talked them through the issues and asked for their feedback.

Comments will now be analysed and fed into the Neighbourhood Plan, which will sit alongside the district-wide Local Development Framework to inform planning decisions in the community.

Owen Hydes, chairman of the steering group, praised everyone who helped in the drop-in sessions, and thanked members of the public for attending.

He added: “We want the right things for the parish in the right places.”

The main concern voiced during the drop-in sessions was the threat of major development that could ‘swamp’ the parish.

Villagers listed the consequences of this as increased traffic, oversubscribed schools, a shortage of hospital services, more power cuts, the loss of greenfields, and the effect on local wildlife.

When the Neighbourhood Plan is finished it will have to be approved by Horsham District Council and Nuthurst Parish Council, and then looked at by an independent examiner. A referendum of people in the parish will then be called on the plan.