Draft Local Plan: Your questions answered
In this section
What is the timetable for the Horsham District Local Plan?
Latest News - 27 February 2025:
The Local Development Framework (LDS) 2025 - 2028 was approved by Cabinet on 26 February 2025.
3 February 2025:
The Inspector has informed us that he remains committed to writing to the Council as soon as he possibly can. He has now indicated that this will not be until the end of February / early of March at the earliest. His response will be placed on the Local Plan Examination webpage in due course.
16 December 2024:
The Local Plan Inspector has published a letter which cancels the Local Plan hearings for the weeks of 17 December, 14 January and 21 January 2025. A copy of his letter is published on the Latest News from Local Plan Examination webpage.
The Council has drafted a response to this letter: HDC Local Plan Examination Hearing Letter
July 2024:
Horsham District Council formally submitted the Local Plan and supporting documents to the Planning Inspectorate on Friday 26 July 2024. Please refer to the Local Plan Examination webpage for further information.
July 2024: Local Plan Review Update
The Regulation 19 Local Plan period of representation closed at 5pm Friday 1 March 2024. Any comments received after this time cannot be accepted. All comments received during the period of representation (9am Friday 19 January until 5pm Friday 1 March 2024) are being reviewed and will be published online on or shortly before Local Plan submission, subject to them meeting the standards set out within the Frequently Asked Questions and Guidance for Making Representations.
The Regulation 19 Local Plan can be viewed online here
December 2023: Local Plan Review update
At a meeting of full Council on 11 December 2023 Horsham councillors approved the Horsham District Local Plan Regulation 19 document for 2023 to 2040 and recommended that it proceeds to the next stage of preparation. This is known as the Regulation 19 stage.
During a formal period of Representation from 19 January to 1 March 2024 you will be able to comment on whether this Regulation 19 Local Plan meets national planning requirements and is legally compliant. Your representations will then be submitted with the Local Plan for consideration by a government-appointed, independent Planning Inspector.
The Local Development Scheme 2023-2026 was agreed by Cabinet on 28 September 2023. The Local Plan review timetable has been updated to reflect the timeline detailed within the Local Development Scheme.
For an explanation of each stage of the Local Plan, or how we consult, please visit our What is a Local Plan? page and our Statement of Community Involvement documents.
July 2023: Local Plan Review update
Following the local elections on 4 May 2023 there has been a change to the majority party at Horsham District Council. Officers within the Strategic Planning Team are currently working with elected Councillors to agree a new Local Plan review timetable which will be updated in due course.
For a more detailed explanation of each stage of the Local Plan, or how we consult, please visit our What is a Local Plan? page and our Statement of Community Involvement documents.
Sign up for email updates
To stay informed about the Local Plan process and when you can get involved, sign up to our email newsletter.
Will my comments be made public? Are there instances when comments may not be accepted by the Council?
Your comments may be made available for the public to read in council offices and online as part of the Local Plan preparation process. Please note that we cannot accept anonymous comments or comments marked ‘private’ or ‘confidential’.
Please be aware that your name may be published against comments you have submitted. All personal information will be processed in accordance with the Horsham District Council’s Privacy Policy available at https://www.horsham.gov.uk/privacy-statement.
The Council will not accept comments which may reasonably be considered offensive, racist, discriminatory or threatening. Any such submissions may be reported to relevant authorities and/or will be destroyed.
I submitted my comment online during the Regulation 18 stage - what happens next?
Officers reviewed each comment and used our online system to extract the key issues raised during the representation stage of Regulation 18. You can read the consultation summary document on the Regulation 18 consultation page.
Once the draft Plan has been further refined we will publish the final Submission Draft of the Local Plan (Regulation 19).
For further information about the stages of Local Plan preparation and the currently proposed timescales for this to take place, visit our Local Plan timetable page.
The comments received are an important part of the Local Plan process and we are very grateful for all those who submit comments.
How can I stay informed about the Horsham District Local Plan?
Your involvement in this process is very important to us. Information with the timeline for the Regulation 19 stage of representation will be displayed around the District and posted in the media and online.
Everything you need to know about how to get involved is available at www.horsham.gov.uk/localplanreview.
To comment online, you will need to register or, if you are already registered, log in to be able to complete the questionnaire.
Sign up here to register for updates
I have some questions about the Local Plan review process. How can I contact you?
We’d encourage you to read the Q&As on these pages first as one of these may answer your question.
If you still have any questions regarding the consultation, please contact the Strategic Planning Team by emailing Strategic.Planning@horsham.gov.uk or calling 01403 215100