The project backers want to repurpose sections of an incomplete commercial scheme for housing, pointing to the prohibitive expense of preparing the ground for warehouse development.

Dunmoore Group seeks to scrap proposals for expansive industrial structures on the second phase of the Billingshurst Trade and Business Park, putting forward instead as many as 102 budget-priced residences and a reduced commercial structure.

Planning specialists at Horsham District Council have recommended approval to councillors, despite concerns raised by Billingshurst Parish Council about the reduction in work opportunities.

The site, located near Stane Street, currently comprises a Lidl store, petrol station, drive-through café and a building supplies outlet.

The rest of the land has remained empty since permission for extra commercial structures was granted in 2022 and 2023.

Representations of the scheme have been provided.

According to documentation, the initial warehouse design would demand extensive land profiling to produce flat development areas.

The applicant indicated that groundwork costs, together with rising prices and higher material expenses, made the earlier scheme economically impractical.

In its submission, Billingshurst Parish Council described the housing plan as alarming and a significant deviation from the agreed design framework.

A parish council member stated that such growth would further convert the village into a residential settlement with reduced trade park employment prospects compared to initial assurances, alongside greater housing volumes.

Under the revised combined submission, 1,338 square metres of retail space would be built next to the existing building supplies store, while a further 5,605 square metres of flexible commercial units would be repositioned to the southern sector of the land.

The developer has verified that an established housing provider will purchase all 102 proposed homes as affordable accommodation.

Planning officers concluded that the district’s insufficient housing development land outweighed the removal of the permitted commercial area.

They indicated the proposed homes would constitute superior land utilisation and that the repositioned commercial facilities would somewhat mitigate the loss of the larger warehouse structures.

The trade park secured planning permission in 2019 to provide manufacturing, storage and logistics employment space, with the first phase now largely complete while the second phase has progressed more gradually.

Earlier this year, Dunmoore’s efforts to attract The Range as an occupier came to nothing, with the firm contending the outlet would provide investment for completing the rest of the scheme.

The proposal will be considered by the district council’s planning committee on April 28.