Safety & strain on services

The local infrastructure and services in south Horsham and Southwater are buckling.

The surge in new developments, without a corresponding increase in services is taking its strain.

The Worthing Road is precarious for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

GP surgeries and pharmacies are struggling; dentists are not taking NHS patients; and schools are full.

Pedestrian safety on Worthing Road

The narrow pavement on the Worthing Road into Horsham is already hazardous and not for the faint-hearted.

Pedestrians are just a foot away from vehicles travelling at 40+ mph. It would struggle to cope with increased footfall.

The pavement switches sides on a bend at the brow of the hill, making it risky to cross because there is limited visibility in both directions, especially walking away from Horsham.

This would only become more dangerous with increased traffic flow.

It’s only possible to walk single file and not suitable for prams or buggies.

It’s impossible to pass other pedestrians without stepping into the road in some places.

The pavement is uneven so pedestrians have to watch footing to avoid tripping into the road.

Poor drainage leaves deep puddles after rain and pedestrians have to step into the road to avoid getting wet.

Traffic on Worthing Road

The Boars Head junction is already an accident black spot.

Sadly there was a fatality very close to the existing golf and football entrance just a couple of years ago.

There would be a higher risk to vehicles turning onto Worthing Road from Denne Park, Salisbury Road and Tower Hill because of increased traffic flow from HGFV.

The Southwater Plan 2021 states that “the local highway network is already stressed”, with queues at the Hop Oast roundabout during peak times and that “the effects of the 2018 improvements are yet to be felt by the local community”.

Local services

Southwater Parish has accommodated swathes of new housing in recent years and the local infrastructure is buckling.

Local schools are full; GP surgeries already struggling to meet demand; No local dental practices are taking on NHS patients.

The existing services cannot support more new housing developments.

The developers claim that their proposals will come at no cost to the public purse so how will the gap in services be funded?

Access to Horsham and Southwater

The “key pedestrian route into Horsham” goes across fields on Denne Hill. It is steep and gets very muddy and slippery, often only passable in boots.

Pedlars Way bridleway is an unlit circuitous route for cycling into town, including a section on Coltstaple Lane which is a narrow and dark lane that is used as a “rat-run” by commuter traffic and school runs. It is steep, prone to flooding and only suitable for mountain bikes. The cycling times quoted are not realistic.

Walking to Park and Ride from the development, waiting for a bus, and journey time into town is likely 30 minutes plus. Driving time is less than ten minutes with free parking at Sainsbury.

The planned southern entrance onto Coltstaple Lane is on a blind bend on a narrow country lane with fast-moving traffic and no pavement. There is no footway for pedestrians for most of the proposed walking route into Southwater.

Local access to Park & Ride and Little Waitrose/Shell

The pedestrian and bike route into Little Waitrose can be precarious. It’s a narrow service road with a blind bend, used by refuse trucks and other HGVs accessing the diesel pumps. The three minutes quoted as walking time from HGFV to Park & Ride is unrealistic.

Parking pressures

Horsham Football Club and Horsham Hockey Club are both doing well, attracting more fans to games. Few travel by public transport. Horsham Football Club have already noted that the designated parking area at Park & Ride is struggling on match days. How will additional capacity for parking be met on days when both clubs are at home?

Schools

Local schools are full.

Some children leaving local primary schools in summer 2023 are having to go to schools in Burgess Hill, with no transportation provided.

Schools highlighted in the proposal are in north Horsham and Broadbridge Heath, with no direct bus, and would require car travel.

The developer’s aspiration to “promote active travel” and “discourage the use of private cars” is not possible for families with school-aged children.

Health care

GP surgeries are already struggling to meet demand, with unacceptable waiting times.

Park Surgery, a major practice, is not taking new patients.

No local dental practices are taking on NHS patients; adults or children. Accessing dental care is an issue for local families.

There is a high strain on pharmacies with long queues and lengthy and unpredictable turnaround times.

This will only get worse now that Lloyds Pharmacy in Sainsbury is closed.

Water management and resources

Denne Hill is an important catchment area of water to the River Arun, a vital source of drinking water which sustains multiple ecosystems.

Rainwater, and especially storm surge, is absorbed by the porous Horsham sandstone and percolates slowly downhill before reaching the river.

Increased demand for precious water

There is no substantiation to the claims that the HGFV would be water neutral.

Housing increases water demand as do sports facilities with showers.

Jeremy Quin: "... the environmental risks associated with 'water neutrality' present our area with a significant opportunity to explain why previously expected numbers {of new homes} cannot be delivered ...".

Concreting over areas in the proposed development will accelerate rainwater run-off and exacerbate rapid bypass of water through storm surge down the Arun, bringing increased risk of flooding downstream and reducing the water held in the river system.

Areas of astro-turf have an even higher level of run-off and impact on storm surges.

Reservoir levels

Our reservoir levels are critically low with the urgent need for new reservoirs to fulfil both existing and anticipated needs.

Even after the wettest March on record, local water companies are already pointing to summer restrictions on use.