Fifth and final phase of Southwater housing development approved

The application makes up the fifth and final phase of the on-going development west of Worthing Road and will largely be made up of detached four and five-bedroom houses.

There was some discussion at a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday (September 8) about whether local people would be able to afford the new homes, which will be built by Berkeley Homes.

Billy Greening (Con, Southwater North) said: “I think this is a missed opportunity for the site.

“They could have doubled the density and provided more one to three bedroom homes for young families which is what Southwater and Horsham needs.”

Ian Stannard (Con, Southwater South & Shipley) agreed with Mr Greening.

While initially supporting the application as he could think of no planning reasons to reject it, he later changed his mind, saying: “The houses that are being built, neither of my children could afford to live in and therefore they will have to move somewhere else.”

Claire Vickers, cabinet member for planning, pointed out that smaller homes – 30 per cent of which were affordable – were delivered in the earlier phases of the development.

The application was approved by 16 votes to four with one abstention.

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