Purpose

A Northern West Sussex Housing Needs SoCG was approved by the Head of Service for Economy and Planning on 22 July 2024. The 2024 version of the SoCG was published on the Crawley Borough Council webpage. This supported the submission of the Mid Sussex District Plan and the Horsham District Local Plan for their independent examinations. Since the previous version of the SoCG was agreed, there has been substantial delay in the progression of both the Mid Sussex District Plan and Horsham District Local Plan. Both councils have recently been notified by the Planning Inspectorate of a change in Planning Inspector and Mid Sussex District Council has been given dates for its Examination Hearing sessions to commence. On this basis, the SoCG has been revised to reflect factual changes and the progress made since July 2024. Critically, this includes the adoption of the Crawley Borough Local Plan 2023 to 2040 in October 2024, and the establishment of the level of unmet housing need arising from the borough. As this is an update on the 2024 SoCG to support the examination of the two neighbouring authorities’ Local Plans, it has been signed off by the Head of Service, in accordance with the delegation scheme. The revised February 2026 SoCG is available online.

Decision

To approve the updated version of the Northern West Sussex Housing Needs Statement of Common Ground.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 - To not update the Statement of Common Ground (SoCG). However, up-to-date SoCGs signed by all parties are required for the legal compliance and soundness of the Crawley Borough Local Plan, Mid Sussex District Plan and the Horsham District Local Plan. It is helpful to confirm the level of unmet need arising from Crawley borough to ensure this is adequately taken into account in the examination of the two neighbouring plans. Option 2 - To update the Statement of Common Ground and approve the updated version.