Save Rural Southwater

09/04/2026

BBC Interview with Save Rural Sussex Recording - Click to play.
Want to know more ? https://www.saveruralsouthwater.org/

07/04/2026

SRS will be on BBC Radio Sussex around 7:40 am Wednesday 8th April to highlight the issues and concerns about the Berkeley Homes proposal .

How to Tune In

• BBC Sounds link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_sussex

• FM frequencies: 95.1 FM (Horsham), 95.3 FM (Brighton, Worthing)
• DAB: Available across East and West Sussex
• Online: Stream via BBC Sounds on desktop or mobile apps

31/03/2026

Still time to object !! Save Rural Southwater – Helping you protect Southwater Village. Help block Berkeley 1000 Homes — pre-written objections and guide here:
https://www.saveruralsouthwater.org/_files/ugd/e35eee_999ab2224492489e829c8bc8eb13ae3c.pdf

15/03/2026

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-housing-development-on-farmland-near-southwater
Remember to sign the petition against the Berkeley Homes 1000 homes proposal

SRS are speaking at the Parish Council meeting on Wednesday 18 March about the Berkeleys Proposal - let’s get the numbers up on the petition to send SPC a message that SRS speak for you !

Everyone over 18 can sign - everyone in your household can sign if over 18 so let’s get the numbers up !!!

The delayed draft District Plan, which was prepared and recommended for adoption by HDC planning officers, massively extended the Built Up Area Boundary of Southwater Village to include farmland and ancient woodlands between Worthing Road and Two Mile Ash Road right up to the A24, providing for a mi...

11/03/2026

Save Rural Southwater – Helping you protect Southwater Village
Help block Berkeley 1000 Homes — pre-written objections and guide here:
https://www.saveruralsouthwater.org/_files/ugd/e35eee_999ab2224492489e829c8bc8eb13ae3c.pdf

27/02/2026

Follow Save Rural Southwater to find out how to stop the overdevelopment of Southwater @ https://www.facebook.com/SaveRuralSouthwater

https://www.horsham.gov.uk/news/2026/02/council-announces-that-horsham-district-local-plan-2023-2040-examination-will-re-open

The people of Southwater Vs Berkeley Homes Developments. Say NO to 1,500 more houses.

25/02/2026

Help Save Rural Southwater
Sign our petition against the 1000 Berkeley Homes plan

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-housing-development-on-farmland-near-southwater

Register for updates and you will receive updates on how to help us stop Berkeley Homes plan…

The delayed draft District Plan, which was prepared and recommended for adoption by HDC planning officers, massively extended the Built Up Area Boundary of Southwater Village to include farmland and ancient woodlands between Worthing Road and Two Mile Ash Road right up to the A24, providing for a mi...

12/02/2026

THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE SOUTHWATER .
THIS IS NOT A DONE DEAL - FIGHT TOGETHER AND WE CAN STOP THIS INJUSTICE.

Good news is that all development sites in the draft HDC Local Plan sites will be re-examined - an opportunity for Southwater to argue its case.

It is potentially bad news because HDC will strongly resist changing their precious draft Local Plan ; HDC will still find it convenient to dump housing targets on Southwater. HDC state that existing sites could also see increased allocations ; so the Southwater housing plan from Berkley Homes could be back up to 1500 homes again!!

This will break our infrastructure—unsustainable growth for Southwater the inspector MUST STOP!

Southwater residents voted for a Neighbourhood Plan supporting lower housing targets, and while HDC’s Local Plan is in draft this is still enforceable.

Southwater should insist the inspector forces HDC to honour the lower SPC plan numbers and build remaining houses to hit their unrealistic targets elsewhere, taking into account the 800 houses already planned for the golf course. Southwater is not a site suitable for this scale of development given current and approved building plans. Southwater needs to fight this and should strongly argue our case against what HDC want to do to Southwater.

Save Rural Southwater strongly encourages the Southwater community to write to Horsham District Council and MP John Milne to express concerns about HDC’s unsustainable development plans for Southwater.

Save Rural Southwater are making plans to help the community get these plans stopped . Help us by making your feelings known to HDC and your MP. Let’s make a noise !!!

Contact details:

∙ John Milne MP: [email protected]
∙ Strategic Planning: [email protected]
∙ Len Ellis-Brown (Chair of HDC Planning Committee): [email protected]

Following Horsham District Council’s request to re-open the examination of its 2023-2040 Local Plan, the Government’s newly appointed Planning Inspector, Jonathan Bore has now confirmed that he will approach the examination afresh and a revised workplan and timing schedule have been announced

10/02/2026

Why you should oppose planned changes to the National Planning Policy Framework - objections close by 10th March 2026

Southwater Community should oppose the planned changes because they reduce local influence over development, weaken the ability to challenge proposals on infrastructure and environmental grounds, and prioritise national housing delivery targets over locally evidenced constraints. With these changes HDC and the Government will find it easier to ignore our voice.

Please visit this webpage for Community Planning Alliance
https://mailchi.mp/b92d868e7b50/community-planning-alliance-new-website-social-media-6750509?e=0698c723cc

Help stop these changes that will help Berkeley Homes build another 1000 homes in Southwater unchecked and more...

The webpage link will provide a pre-formed email to send to John Milne our local MP to oppose these changes.
Simply enter his email address in the TO: line and press send.

Email Address : [email protected]

The latest National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is out for consultation until 10 March. It’s just the latest set of deregulatory policies. Here are some tools to help you:

01/02/2026

Plans for 1000 Extra New Homes
Facts you should know…
Want to know more? Visit Save Rural Southwater @
 Website : https://www.saveruralsouthwater.org/
 Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/SaveRuralSouthwater
 Email : [email protected]

 Have you been concerned by the recent water supply problems in Tunbridge Wells and East Grinstead? This will be the norm for Southwater residents if these plans go ahead. There is no water resilience planning and water shortages are officially forecast with hose pipe bans and supply restrictions.
 Southwater’s Worthing Road has approx. 800 cars per hour - a vehicle every 13 seconds. No highway improvements are planned, which will mean heavy road congestion, rat runs through the village and higher accident risks. If you think public transport is scarce now, this new development has no funding for extra bus capacity or school transport and will likely cause mayhem.
 Are you already having problems accessing doctors, dentist or health assistance generally? This development will worsen an already over stretched NHS, hospital access and emergency services response times.
 There will be permanent loss of nature and farmland in and around the village - something we take for granted now, yet we all know if this green land is destroyed, our mental and physical health will be negatively affected and for many people, true countryside will be significantly further away. Long term impacts on biodiversity will be catastrophic. We can also expect worse flooding than currently experienced.
 Whilst homes are needed locally, our concerns are that this development is simply too big and ill thought through and will negatively affect us all for decades to come. The revised Berkeley Homes plans are vague and worryingly thin on much needed detail.
 The Southwater community i.e. YOU, need to act now so that this ill-conceived and damaging proposal is revised for the benefit of the community and not just designed to hit arbitrary housing targets.
 If you are able, please email Mr. Len Ellis-Brown who is the Chair of the Horsham District Council Planning (North) Committee. @ : [email protected] and email your local MP John Milne @: [email protected] to voice your concerns, whatever they may be.

15/12/2024

The latest news is that the Government’s independent Inspector, Mr Luke Fleming, has just canceled all further scheduled public hearings in his Examination of the Horsham Local Plan. Hearings were held last week - and Save Rural Southwater contributed to the formal interrogation of the many holes in HDC’s Local Plan. It was clear that the Inspector saw major problems with the Plan as put forward by the Lib Dem-led Council.

The Plan was driven through in haste, led by John Milne, who then stood for election as our MP. Andrew Griffith MP for Arundel and South Downs spoke powerfully against the HDC Local Plan. Thanks to all those who submitted their objections to the Plan earlier this year, the Inspector is aware of HDc’s fantasy planning assumptions, particularly around the supply of water in our district.

It remains to be seen what action the Inspector will take. But this is a clear indication that HDC’s Plan is unsound as it is.