Plans to set up six-pitch gypsy site on former vineyard in West Sussex village approved
Plans to set up a six-pitch gypsy site on a former vineyard in Warnham have been approved by Horsham District Council.
The application for Long Wells Vineyard, in Marches Road, was given the nod by the planning committee on Tuesday (July 21).
The site sits next to a patch of land on which retrospective permission for two pitches was given in 2025.
Some 30 letters of objections to the latest plans were received by the council, with concerns raised including the site being unsuitable and inappropriate, harm to the rural character of the area, loss of trees, increased traffic, and inadequate sewerage/waste infrastructure.
A number of conditions which have to be dealt with by the applicant before any work on the site can begin were included with the planning permission. These include submitting a drainage strategy to the council within three months, showing how the disposal of foul and surface water will be achieved.
Each pitch will hold a timber-clad mobile home, along with two parking spaces and space for a touring caravan. Native hedgerow will be planted between the pitches. The remainder of the site will be used for grazing horses.
Horsham has an identified need for gypsy/traveller accommodation – a fact which would likely have seen the authority lose an expensive appeal should the plans have been refused.
Its Gypsy & Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment states that 93 pitches are needed by 2036. So far, only 42 have been allowed or approved.
The application was approved by nine votes to two with two abstentions. To view it in full, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/25/1727.