Council “hugely disappointed” in planning inspector call to withdraw local plan over failure to meet duty to cooperate

Horsham District Council has written to Planning and Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook and lodged a formal complaint with the Planning Inspectorate after being advised to withdraw its local plan over a failure to meet the duty to cooperate.

In an interim findings letter dated 4 April 2025, planning inspector Luke Fleming said the draft plan was legally non-compliant and recommended withdrawal under section 22 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

He found the council's engagement with neighbouring authorities "was not constructive or active" and that the local authority's water strategy could not be used to demonstrate water neutrality.

Fleming urged the council to "rapidly" prepare a new local plan. However, the council's leader, Councillor Martin Boffey, suggested this was unrealistic given the additional pressures of local government reorganisation.

Horsham formally submitted its draft local plan covering the years 2023 to 2040 in July last year.

The inspector raised a number of soundness and legal compliance concerns within the first week of examination hearings in December 2024, and later cancelled the remaining hearing sessions on 16 December.

Fleming set out his concerns in his interim findings letter, which revolved around the duty to cooperate and the council's delivery of homes against its water strategy, known as the Sussex North Offsetting Water Strategy (SNOWS).

SNOWS manages the water available for new plan-led developments through improved water efficiency and offsetting and has previously been accepted as an approach to water neutrality by planning inspectors for Chichester and Crawley's local plans.

However, the inspector rejected Horsham's water neutrality strategy, concluding that the council could have also relied on private water neutrality schemes to identify more housing sites.

Fleming also said the council should have done more to provide housing for neighbouring Crawley's unmet housing need under the duty to cooperate obligation.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the council said it strongly disagreed with the conclusions, adding that it had worked consistently and effectively with all organisations, including adjoining authorities, during the preparation of its plan and particularly on the issue of water neutrality.

The statement said: "The council is astonished that the Inspector could reach such a conclusion without allowing neighbouring authorities to speak at the examination hearings and questioning them directly as the Inspectors examining our neighbours' plans have done."

It also argued that expert bodies advised that delivering large-scale private water schemes is "extremely challenging" and cannot be relied upon to deliver more homes.

Cllr Fletcher said the decision was "hugely disappointing" and has left the council "fighting against uncontrolled speculative developments with one hand tied behind our backs".

She added: "It's clear from the hearings and subsequent questions that the inspector has struggled to understand the unique challenges posed by water neutrality. These were issues he should have clarified before the hearings commenced."

Cllr Boffey meanwhile said: "This is a maverick decision that helps no one. Bearing in mind the need for the council to carry out local government reorganisation at the same time, there is no realistic prospect of doing what's been asked of us."

He added: "This council has always sought to work cooperatively with the Government and Planning Inspectorate but there are aspects of the inspector's conclusions we cannot accept.

"We are therefore communicating urgently with Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing Communities and Local Government, for assistance in finding a way forward."

The Planning Inspectorate said it cannot comment on live examinations.

Adam Carey