Barns Green homes at Sumners Pond Fishery and Campsite approved

The application from The Hunter Group and The Smith Family, for land at Sumners Ponds, in Chapel Road, was given the nod at a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday (December 6).

The council received 38 letters of objection but committee members described the plans as ‘well thought-out’.

Questions were asked about whether the 1.9 hectare site was greenfield or brownfield land.

Officers explained that the part which currently houses agricultural and small industrial buildings is brownfield, while the rest is greenfield.

Because the site has been allocated for development in Itchingfield Parish Council’s draft Neighbourhood Plan, development was considered acceptable.

Toni Bradnum (Con, Nuthurst & Lower Beeding) said: “There seems to be a really good mix of houses and, with 35 per cent affordable, I think we should welcome these type of developments when they run alongside the Neighbourhood Plans.”

Twelve of the new homes will be classed as affordable and will be made up of six one-bedroom and two two-bedroom flats and four three-bedroom houses.

The rest will comprise two two-bedroom, nine three-bedroom and one four-bedroom semi-detached houses and eight four-bedroom detached houses.

The commercial buildings will total more than 1,000sqm of space, with up-and-over doors and a reception unit.

They will be parking for 177 cars – 83 for residents and 94 for the commercial units.

To view the application in full, log on to public-access.horsham.gov.uk and search for DC/21/2697.