Plans to move Holbrook Animal Rescue to new site refused

More than 900 people contacted the council to support the application to move the charity from Holbrook Lane to Jackrells Lane, in Southwater. But it was turned down by the planning committee on Tuesday (July 1).

Supporters said the move would ‘prevent the closure of a long-standing charity that benefits both animals and people’, while praising the rescue centre for its work in re-homing and caring for abandoned animals.

On the flip side, more than 170 people objected to the plans, with concerns raised including danger to pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and residents from increased traffic along the area’s narrow lanes.

Officers recommended the application for refusal and the committee shared that view. They turned down the application on the grounds that it would be ‘detrimental to the rural landscape character’ of the area and that it would result in ‘unacceptable harm’ to neighbours from ‘noise and disturbance’.

Had they approved the plans, the development would have included a house for the owner and staff, a stable building, a two-bay garage, an animal rescue building, and an education block.

The committee heard from speakers for and against the plans. Alex Jeffery (Lib Dem, Southwater South & Shipley), who is not a member of the committee, said there was no doubt that the rescue centre did fantastic work but ’emotive arguments’ shouldn’t override material planning considerations.

Mr Jefferry said it had been known ‘for some time’ that a new site would be needed as an option on the land it currently sits on had been taken out around 2011.

One resident who lives close to the site and re-homed a dog from the rescue centre, spoke in support of the charity. He disagreed with a landscape report which mentioned the visual impact of the development, stating that the view of the site from surrounding footpaths was ‘very limited’.

Questions were asked about the recent clearance of the site and the erection of a fence. Officers said that the removal of scrub and small trees did not need planning permission but the fence did and would need to be ‘looked into further’.

There was a lot of support for the charity from members of the committee, but the overall feeling was that Jackrells Lane was not the right site for its new home.

To view the application, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/24/0204.