Planning officers at Chichester District Council have backed controversial proposals to redevelop Foxbridge Golf Course in Plaistow, near Billingshurst, into a substantial holiday resort, recommending the scheme for approval ahead of a planning committee vote on April 15.
The plans, which have attracted significant local debate since they were first submitted, would see the former golf course transformed into a resort featuring more than a hundred holiday lodges alongside a 50-bedroom spa hotel. The scale of the development has made it one of the more contentious planning applications in the district in recent years, with opponents raising concerns about the impact on the rural landscape, local infrastructure and the character of the surrounding countryside.
Planning officers’ recommendation to approve the scheme marks a significant moment for the application. While the planning committee is not bound by officers’ recommendations and can vote against approval, committees follow officer recommendations in the majority of cases. The April 15 meeting will be the decisive moment for the project.
Supporters of the scheme have argued that the development would bring substantial economic benefits to the area — creating jobs, boosting local tourism and generating income for surrounding businesses in a part of West Sussex that has seen limited new leisure investment in recent years. A resort of this scale would draw visitors from across the South East, including significant numbers from Brighton and Hove, given the site’s relative accessibility from the A272 corridor.
Opponents have focused on the cumulative impact of traffic on rural roads, the visual impact of lodge-style development on open countryside, and questions about whether the proposed site is appropriate for tourism infrastructure of this scale outside of a designated development area.
The planning committee meeting takes place on April 15. Brighton Journal will report on the outcome.
