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RESOLVED
 
i)              
That the construction of a community facility to include a hall,
changing rooms, toilets and a car park at Highwood (‘the
Highwood Community Facility’) be approved;

 
ii)             
That authority to the Director of Place in consultation with the
Cabinet Member for Enterprise and Property be delegated, to approve
the final designs for the Highwood Community Facility;
 
iii)            
That the award of any contracts required to give effect to the
construction of the Highwood Community Facility be approved;
and
 
iv)            
That authority to the Director of Place in consultation with the
Head of Legal and Democratic Services be delegated, to finalise the
terms and conditions of, and to approve the entering into of, any
contracts or other documentation required to give effect to the
construction of the Highwood Community Facility or matters
ancillary thereto.
 
RECOMMENDED TO
COUNCIL
 
v)             
To approve a capital budget of £2.6m for the 2026/27
financial year for the construction of the Highwood Community
Facility.
 
REASONS
 
i)              
To provide community facilities in accordance with the Land West of
Horsham Masterplan 2008 and in alignment with the 2025 feedback
from the community consultation.

 
ii)             
Council must approve a capital budget.
 
 
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED BUT REJECTED AS
IDENTIFIED IN THE REPORT
 
In 2022, there was intention to have a
facility for a nursery. This would have provided a commercial
income and presence on site but was not viable due to general
escalation of material costs across the sector impacting the
business model of the nursery provider.
 
The previous decision around the provision of
a community hall on the site was taken in the context of the
planned loss of the Drill Hall. That facility is now remaining, and
the Drill Hall will receive significant investment which will make
it a desirable hall that is available for community use.
Furthermore, the Blackbridge Community Centre has capacity for
further community use. There is a community meeting room at the
Highwood fire station and there are community halls with capacity
at Broadbridge Heath and North Horsham. There are 24 other halls
available for hire within Horsham town providing over 3,900
spaces.
 
The previous view of officers was that it
would be appropriate to provide the changing rooms, toilets and car
parking only at the cost of £1.9m. However, in light of the
consultation response and the costs of construction, the officer
view is that it is appropriate to build a facility that includes a
community hall, noting the view of the Chief Financial Officer in
the resource consequences section of this report.
Not providing a hall has been rejected on the
grounds that Councillors hope the investment of a small hall in
Highwood will help build the sense of community in this
development.
 
Providing a much larger hall as part of the
facility is not supported by Councillors on the grounds of
excessive cost and desirability by the local community.