Start date for North Horsham development pushed back

North Horsham site (photo from HDC planning portal). SUS-160408-161431001

Liberty Property Trust was granted outline planning permission for up to 2,750 homes, a business park, land for new schools as well as community and sports facilities by Horsham District Council in May 2017.

After the decision the developer said it was on track to start building work on land north of the A264 in the summer of 2018.

However no reserved matters applications, which are required to be approved by the council before construction on individual phases of the development can begin, have been submitted.

This week Andrew Blevins, managing director of Liberty Property Trust UK, said: “When district councillors approved our outline planning application, we were hopeful of a summer 2018 start.

“That timescale required prompt progress to clear the various hurdles before planning permission was actually in place, including signing the s106 legal agreement and clearing the legal challenge period.

“In practice, we didn’t have a planning permission that we could move forward with until early summer this year.

“With outline permission now in place, we’re now focused on working through the many planning conditions that need to be satisfied before any building can start.

“For example, we’re developing site-wide strategies for ecology and cycling, and we’re in discussion with local authorities to programme infrastructure works into their delivery plans. There is plenty to do before we put shovels in the ground.

“Significantly, the county council is focussing on the early delivery of the secondary school campus east of Rusper Road and has secured funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency to deliver this major piece of community infrastructure early in the development programme.”

According to Devine Homes’ website it is one of a number of developers and landowners promoting the new neighbourhood at North Horsham.

Mr Blevins said: “Liberty is the master developer for North of Horsham. A small cluster of landowners around Old Holbrook chose to work with Devine to progress the development of their land near the junction with the A264.

“Any development of this land must, though, be in accordance with the outline planning consent and the s106 agreement for the wider North of Horsham site.”