Hotel’s bid for 51 new homes refused as ‘overambitious’

Cisswood House Hotel, off Sandygate Lane, was hoping to gain permission for two blocks of flats, one for 25 market homes, and another for 22 units split between staff accommodation and affordable homes, on top of four detached houses.

But its planning application was turned down by Horsham District Council’s Development Control North Committee on Tuesday on the grounds of overdevelopment.

Agent James Simpson said: “The impact on the area is absolutely minimal as can be seen by the visual impact assessment. It will not be seen from the road.”

Although the scheme only included 12 affordable homes, around half of HDC’s target, the hotel felt the ten staff accommodation flats should also be counted as affordable housing, while plans would allow them to invest money in improving the hotel.

Toni Bradnum (Con, Nuthurst) argued that creating a new access point on to the A281 yards from the junction with Sandygate Lane was an ‘appalling idea’.

She added: “It would be 51 units in total and that’s huge.”

Meanwhile Peter Burgess (Con, Holbrook West) said that counting staff accommodation as affordable housing was ‘not a concept at all’.

Leonard Crosbie (LDem, Trafalgar) added: “It’s extremely overambitious and I definitely can’t support it.”

Nuthurst Parish Council‘s Owen Hydes, explained that although not in their parish rural developments were being approved without ‘consideration for infrastructure’.

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