Campaign group fighting plans for ‘mini town’ near Billingshurst demands answers from council

A development company known as Our Place wants to build the 3,500 homes, along with schools, a health centre, road and rail improvements and provide employment space on a greenfield site at Adversane.

But huge opposition is being put forward by local residents who have formed a campaign group called BigSTAND in a bid to halt the development.

In an open letter to Horsham District Council leader Ray Dawe the group is calling for notes of meetings between Our Place and councillors to be made public.

No planning application or decisions have yet been made.

But BigSTAND chairman Julian Trumper says that councillors have met with developers ‘on a number of occasions.’ The group is demanding to know if public concerns over infrastructure have been discussed.

They want to know what provision the developers would make for premises for doctors, dentists and other health services, when they would be built and who would pay for them.

They also want to know how many new schools would be built, and when they would open; what transport infrastructure would be provided and what additional investment developers would make to ensure sufficient water and sewerage capacity.

In addition, they are seeking assurances over potential flooding problems, employment in the area, an increase in traffic and air pollution and costs of the development that might fall on local taxpayers.

Julian Trumper said: “It must be in the public interest for the answers given by the developers to be in the public domain.”

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