Opinion: Horsham’s visitor economy – is Horsham District Council interested in it anymore?

In 2017, the then Conservative controlled District Council commissioned a Visitor Economy Strategy for the year 2018 to 2023. Since the Lib Dems assumed control of the District Council 18 months ago, they haven’t bothered to update the plan.

We know that visitors are attracted to Horsham because it is safe, traditional, protected by landscapes and interesting places to visit yet still close to larger urban populations. There is much to recommend Horsham and the wider Horsham District to a broad range of age groups and interests, particularly given our proximity to the South Downs, the High Weald, Surrey Hills, Brighton and the South Coast, not to mention London, all of which would appeal to domestic visitors and the thousands of international tourists that travel through Gatwick every day.

The Conservative’s plan recommended that the District Council focus on supporting the hospitality sector, particularly accommodation, and linking up with other nearby market towns for mutual benefit in providing visitors with a wider range of activities and experiences. Are we confident that the Lib Dem run District Council – using an out of date plan - has the ambition to maximise Horsham’s share of the visitor economy? Would increasing the car parking charges up to 300% be part of any sound visitor and local economy strategy? Or closing The Capitol’s theatre and cinema for nearly two years to spend £10.7m for the sole purpose of meeting the Lib Dem’s Net Zero aspirations?

The Lib Dems promised to back local businesses in their 2023 District Council manifesto. They promised to: ‘Promote Horsham District as a destination for food and drink tourism’. But what the Lib Dem’s have done however is raised the Sunday parking charge by 300% making it more expensive for tourists to visit local pubs and restaurants.

The Lib Dems can’t even produce and maintain the simple website to entice visitors and townspeople alike to want to spend time here. The Lib Dem run council’s “Horsham Visitor Information Centre” (horsham.gov.uk/things-to-do/horsham-visitor-information-centre) directs people to a broken website www.horshamvisit.co.uk, which is the official visitor website identified in the council’s Visitor Economy Strategy.

The Liberal Democrat’s polices and their implementation are full of contradictions. The Lib Dem run Council simply isn’t ambitious for Horsham. They aren’t interested in promoting our local businesses as their lack of attention to the council’s website shows. They are using parking revenue as their ‘cash cow’ by increasing the town parking fees and driving people away from our town centre in order to pay for their pet vanity projects such as £2.5m on a new council office and £10.5m on The Capitol both to meet their own Net Zero aspirations. The Lib Dems have clearly lost sight of the heart of Horsham - our independent local businesses and entrepreneurial creative spirit.