This development would see Crawley, the largest population centre in the county, increase its size by around a quarter.
Fortunately, Homes England are a public body and ultimately report to you, which is why Peter Lamb, Leader of Crawley Borough Council has asked The Secretary of State a number of questions.
Are they building 30,000 new homes for Horsham?
The Chair of Horsham District Council’s Planning Committee has stated that: ‘The Housing Minister has INSTRUCTED us to build 30,000 houses over the next 25 years’, as the Housing Minister reports to you, can you confirm whether or not this is the case and if this instruction would require the West of Ifield development to be included within the council’s Local Plan?
Have the Government set the targets?
Homes England report to the Government, have their targets set by the Government, and reportedly the development of the West of Ifield site has already been taken into account in their delivery targets. Could you confirm that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are not pushing the development of the West of Ifield and would not provide opposition should Homes England decide to not proceed with their current plans for the site?
Is there a designation order?
The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, grants Homes England the status of a planning authority where the Secretary of State has granted a designation order. Can you confirm that in the event that Horsham District Council do not grant planning permission for the development of land West of Ifield, no designation order will be granted for this site?
What powers does Homes England have?
Homes England is the successor body of a long line of development agencies, stretching back to the original New Town Development Corporations. A number of these agencies had their own planning powers and comments from a past Chief Executive of Homes England have suggested that some of these powers might be used in the future to bring forward development where councils would not. In the event that they attempted to use these powers West of Ifield, could the Secretary of State confirm that he would intervene either directly with Homes England, such as through the use of his call-in power?
Does Crawley have a say?
As previously outlined, in the event that Horsham District Council do grant permission for the development of West of Ifield, Crawley Borough Council and consequently Crawley residents will have no decision-making power over plans which will inevitably have a significant impact on the town’s future and which are allegedly about meeting the town’s needs. Will you intervene to ensure that a principal authority review can be carried out before any development takes place, ensuring that the local residents can decide for themselves how their town will develop by making Crawley Borough Council the decision-making authority?
Will Crawley be listened to?
If a principal authority is not possible within these timescales, as Homes England are a body reporting to your Ministry, will you require Homes England to pay the same heed to the requirements set out by Crawley Borough Council as if we were ourselves the local planning authority?