Plans to build retirement community in West Sussex village approved
Plans to build a retirement community in Henfield have been approved by Horsham District Council.
The outline application to redevelop a former horticultural nursery on West End Lane was given the nod during a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday (February 3).
The development, from Sandgate Henfield Developments Ltd, will include 72-homes and up to ten supported living homes, along with community facilities such as a medical centre, on-site laundry and catering facilities.
The council received 122 objections to the application, along with objections from Henfield Parish Council.
Concerns raised included over-development, drainage, flooding, the fact the site is not allocated for development in the Henfield Neighbourhood Plan, a lack of nearby public transport, and whether the location – down a rather narrow road which comes to a dead end – is appropriate for retirement homes.
Another concern was the fact that the site has been naturally ‘rewilded’ since the closure of the nursery, providing habitats for birds, bats, animals, newts, reptiles and insects.
The Parish Council has objected to developments on the site since 2014.
Spokesman Cllr Daryn Grossmith said: “The application is misleading and unsuitable. It does not meet the local needs or policy requirements for a retirement community. It should be refused to uphold the Horsham development framework and support the Henfield Neighbourhood Plan.”
But most of the committee disagreed, approving the application by seven votes to four with one abstention.
Anthony Frankland (Lib Dem, Trafalgar) said the development would bring more benefits than harm.
But Roger Noel (Con, Bramber, Upper Beeding & Woodmancote) questioned how the two and three-bedroom homes proposed in the development conformed to older people needing special accomodation.
Concerns about the location of the site led to a lengthy debate, with officers warning that refusing the application on those grounds would not be defensible.
In the end, they added a requirement to the Section 106 legal agreement between the council and the applicant to include a minibus service to take residents to and from the development.
To view the application, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/23/0189.