Plans to demolish church and replace with six houses approved by Horsham District Council

Church Place development, Pulborough. Image: Earlswood Homes

Plans to demolish a church and replace it with six houses have been approved by Horsham District Council.

The application from Earlswood Homes, for St Crispins Church, in Pulborough, was given the nod by the planning committee on Tuesday (May 21).

The plans had been deferred in March after the committee asked for more information from West Sussex Highways about the access and road arrangements.

It was reported that the increase in traffic from the development would be ‘minimal’, with the highways team filing no objection.

St Crispin's Church, Pulborough. Image: Google Maps

The application follows a similar one for seven homes which was refused by the council in 2022, with planning inspectors dismissing the appeal that followed.

Some 26 letters objecting to the latest plans were received by the council.

Concerns raised included the loss of green space, increased traffic and parking pressures, and whether or not HGVs would be able to access the site.

The committee agreed an amendment from Paul Clarke (Con, Pulborough, Coldwaltham & Amberley) that required the developer to submit a management plan setting out the size of the construction vehicles which would be used and how they would safely access the site.

The application was approved by nine votes to zero with eight abstentions.

To view the plans in detail, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/23/1361.