Community conversation launched on new neighbourhood at the former Novartis site in Horsham
11.12.24 3 min read
Alongside Lovell, we are inviting local residents to take part in a community conversation on proposals to transform the former Novartis site in Horsham to deliver a high-quality new residential community.
The former Novartis site is located to the northeast of Horsham town centre and the railway station. The site has been vacant for a decade and was formerly occupied by Novartis – a pharmaceutical business – who ceased operations on the site in 2014.
In 2016, the site was purchased by West Sussex County Council who secured Outline planning permission in 2020 for a mixed-use development featuring new homes and new employment space.
In 2021, we were subsequently chosen, in collaboration with our sister company Lovell, as the County Council’s preferred development partner.
Alongside the County Council, we ran an extensive, two yearlong marketing campaign in a significant effort to obtain occupiers for the employment uses proposed under the Outline. However, due to a marked change in the scale and type of demand for commercial space since the Covid Pandemic, this has been unsuccessful, and the Outline application cannot come forward.
As a result, we have had to undertake a comprehensive review of other possible development options to unlock our part of the site. The current proposal under consideration is a fully residential development of 100% high-quality affordable homes, which respond to an identified and urgent need in Horsham. It is proposed that the western part of the site come forward in broad alignment with the Outline consent with a mixture of private sale and affordable homes.
This proposal ensures this part of a central brownfield site does not remain vacant and derelict but instead provides a new vibrant neighbourhood, without the need to use greenfield land.
The residential-led approach will ensure the development better responds to the needs of the local area, with over 400 households having expressed an interest in an affordable home in the Holbrook electoral division alone.
Our joint vision with Lovell, is to create a vibrant and diverse residential neighbourhood which delivers much-needed, high-quality housing across our sites, alongside wider public benefits including new public open space, and walking and cycling routes.
The new neighbourhood would complement existing surrounding uses and generate significantly less vehicular movements than those created by the commercial proposal.
Together with Lovell, we are launching a community conversation to display our emerging proposals for the site and gather feedback prior to the submission of planning applications to Horsham District Council for their respective parcels of the site.
The community conversation will be hosted from 16:00 to 20:00 on Thursday 12th December 2024 at The Roffey Millennium Hall, Crawley Rd, RH12 4DT.
Residents can also explore the emerging proposal and provide feedback via the dedicated project website horshamsnewneighbourhood.consultationonline.co.uk
Residents can give feedback on the proposals by:
Emailing the project team via feedback@consultation-online.co.uk with comments or questions.
Calling the freephone information line on 0800 298 7040 and leaving a message.
The deadline for submitting feedback is Sunday 22nd December 2024, following which we will carefully review all the comments received with Lovell, before finalising our respective planning applications to Horsham District Council.
A spokesperson for Muse commented:
“There is an acute need for new and affordable homes in Horsham. Our emerging proposals will make a vital contribution to addressing this need on a well-located, brownfield site that has been vacant for a decade.”
A spokesperson for Lovell commented:
“The emerging proposals envisage the creation of an exciting and vibrant new neighbourhood, with significant amounts of affordable housing, alongside new parks and walking and cycling routes for the wider community to enjoy.”