®Planning appeal decision
Land to the West of Storrington Road,, Thakeham, RH20 3DY
Planning appeal 3350094 at Land to the West of Storrington Road,, Thakeham, RH20 3DY (Horsham District Council) was dismissed on 13 June 2025 by Inspector Nicholls H, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the scale and location of the proposal accord with the development plan.
demolition of existing buildings and the phased redevelopment of the site as a residential led development comprising 247 dwellings and flexible non-residential floorspace (Use Class E), with works to public right of way and associated landscaping, open space and infrastructure
- Authority
- Horsham District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- residential · Major dwellings
- Inspector
- Nicholls H
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the scale and location of the proposal accord with the development plan
- whether the proposal would be sustainably located in relation to facilities and services to minimise the reliance of future residents on private vehicles
- whether the proposed development would be in a suitable location with regard to flood risk
What decided it
The proposal's unsustainable scale and location relative to Thakeham's limited facilities and poor active travel/public transport connectivity, compounded by the existence of a sequentially preferable flood risk site, meant the harms significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits.
The adverse impacts of granting permission—conflict with the settlement strategy, an unsustainable location reliant on private vehicles, and the availability of a sequentially preferable flood risk site—significantly and demonstrably outweighed the substantial benefits of housing and affordable housing delivery and other lesser benefits.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy 2 (HDPF)Policy 3 (HDPF)Policy 4 (HDPF)Policy 26 (HDPF)Policy 40 (HDPF)Policy 3 (TNP)
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 14Paragraph 110Paragraph 170Paragraph 175
- Judgments
- R (Mead and Redrow) v SoS LUHC [2024] EWHC 279 (Admin)
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.