Plans to build houses and flats in Lower Beeding

Royel Hotels Ltd, which owns the Sandygate Lane hotel, aims to demolish and replace its staff quarters, while also building new homes.

A previous application, which just sought planning permission to build four houses on the site, was rejected by Horsham District Council in October last year.

The council’s decision notice said the site is outside of the built up area defined by the Local Development Framework, and allowing it would be against their policy.

The notice also said that the new houses ‘would be detrimental to the landscape character and trees of the site and would have an adverse impact on the rural character of the area’.

However, a supporting statement in the new application cites National Planning Policy Framework paragraph 49, which says: “Relevant policies for the supply of housing should not be considered up to date if the local planning authority cannot demonstrates a five year supply of deliverable housing sites.”

It also says that recent appeal decisions have confirmed that Horsham District Council cannot show that it has five years’ worth of housing in hand.

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