Annual Parish Meeting Review: April 11th 2024

All Parish and Town Councils in England are required by law to hold an annual parish meeting. The meeting is for electors of the parish as a point of communication allowing the Parish council to inform what it has been doing over the last year and to give the electors the opportunity to have their say on anything they consider important to the community.

Addressing a packed Steyning Annual meeting, RH Andrew Griffith, MP for Arundel and South Downs, said he’ll 'use my voice' and 'do all I can at Government level' to challenge the proposed development of over 265 homes at Glebe Farm, Steyning.

Record breaking numbers attended the gathering, as residents took the opportunity to challenge the sustainability of the proposed development and lack of supportive infrastructure within the town.

Mr Griffith was quick to say, 'You’ve got my support'. He continued 'I’ve got a petition going and encourage everyone to sign it, and make it clear that you’re prepared to fight it all the way……... It is the only way to get brown field development and put a protective ring around green field sites'.

The Glebe Farm development is part of Horsham District Council’s Local Plan which was agreed at district level in December 2023 and passed to Regulation 19 consultative stage in January 2024, allowing residents and local parish councils to give their feedback to the proposed sites.

Steyning Parish Council (SPC) submitted a robust response, challenging the nature and extent of the proposed Glebe Farm development and its contradictions between the Plan’s stated sustainability and environmental objectives, while supporting smaller ‘in-fill’ developments on brownfield sites within the town.

Away from housing developments, Pete Crawford, Horsham District Council’s head of Parks and Countryside, joined Mr Griffith at the SPC Annual Parish Meeting, giving a short presentation about Bramber Brooks wildlife reserve. This 34-acre site was acquired by the Horsham Council in January 2024 with the aim of securing it for the benefit of local communities and to provide a vital boost to local biodiversity, and the district’s aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

For further information please contact:

John Fullbrook, Steyning Parish Council Clerk
Tel: 01903 812042, Email: clerk@steyningpc.gov.uk