The plan we voted for
The Ashington Neighbourhood Plan
In June 2021, after five years of consultation, an independent examination, and a referendum at which the village voted in favour, the Ashington Neighbourhood Plan was made by Horsham District Council.
What it is
A Neighbourhood Plan is a community-prepared planning document allowed under the Localism Act 2011. Once "made" by the local authority, it forms part of the statutory development plan under section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Planning applications must be determined in accordance with it unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
In short: it is the village's own legally-recognised plan for how Ashington grows over the period 2019–2031.
What it allocates
Policy ASH1 is the core spatial-strategy policy. It provides for a minimum of 225 new homes between 2019 and 2031, on two specific sites the village itself chose:
- Chanctonbury Nursery - approximately 75 dwellings.
- Land West of Ashington School - approximately 150 dwellings.
What it does NOT permit
Policy ASH1(D) sets out a clear refusal rule. Development outside the Built-Up Area Boundary and outside the two allocated sites "will not be permitted" unless it falls within a narrow list of countryside-appropriate uses - agriculture, forestry, horticulture, fishing, equestrian activities, tourism, essential utilities infrastructure, or energy generation. Housing is not in that list.
Both of the new pre-application proposals - Land at Rectory Lane and Land West of Billingshurst Road - are outside the BUAB and outside the two allocations.
How the village arrived at 225
The figure was set deliberately above the village's own assessed local housing need. The Housing Needs Assessment commissioned by Ashington Parish Council (Navigus Planning, 2017) found that 123 to 200 new dwellings would meet local need across 2017–2031. The Plan added a buffer above this so that delivering the homes would also enable delivery of community infrastructure.
How the village chose those sites
An independent assessment (Final Site Selection by Navigus Planning, 9 July 2018) considered 16 candidate sites against sustainability criteria. Two are directly relevant to the current proposals:
- Site 10: North of Rectory Lane - rejected as "too far from community cluster compared with other sites".
- Site 4: North & West of Oast House Farm, Billingshurst Road - rejected for similar reasons.
In other words, the village considered exactly the land that Taylor Wimpey and Devine Homes are now pitching, and chose otherwise.
Other relevant policies
- ASH7 - addresses long-standing surface-water flooding in the Mill Lane area.
- ASH8 - focuses new community facilities (sports pitches, MUGA, allotments, sports pavilion, hall, parish council office) in the Community Cluster.
- ASH9 - encourages small-scale employment space.
- ASH11 - sets 28 detailed criteria for the Land West of School allocation, covering everything from housing mix and affordable housing to footpath upgrades, sports facilities, education contributions, flood mitigation and heritage protection.
Source: Ashington Neighbourhood Plan - Referendum Version, March 2021 (made by HDC, June 2021).