District Plan Review - Examination
Examination News Updates
6 March 2026
The Hearing Statements in response to the Inspector’s Matter 7 have been published and can be viewed under the Hearing Statements section below.
The Council has published the Post Hearings – Site Selection Methodology Review (MS-12) paper which can be viewed in the Mid Sussex District Council documents section below. This document has been prepared in response to the discussion at the Hearing sessions for Matters 5 and 6. It describes the methodology that the Council will apply to re-appraise housing sites in the SHELAA in light of the Inspector’s request to increase housing supply.
Comments are invited on this document (MS-12). The deadline is 5pm on Friday 13 March 2026. Responses should be no longer than two sides of A4 paper and should be sent to policyconsultation@midsussex.gov.uk.
23 February 2026
The Council has published the Inspector's Hearings Agenda for Week 2 (IDJB-08). The agenda for Week 2 can be viewed below under Inspector's Documents.
20 February 2026
The Council has published the Inspector's Hearings agenda for Week 1 (IDJB-07). The agenda can be found below under Inspector's Documents. The hearings will be streamed to the Council's You Tube channel, which can be found here or by clicking the YouTube icon at the bottom of the webpage.
18 February 2026
The Hearing Statements in response to the Inspector's Matters 1 to 6 have been published and can be viewed under the Hearing Statements section below. The Council has also published the Inspector's comments (IDJB-06) on the Council's response (MS-08) to the Development Management Policies. IDJB-06 has been added to the Inspector's Documents section below.
12th February 2026
The Council has published its Infrastructure Delivery Plan (December 2025) and 1 April 2025 Housing Trajectory. These can be found in the Evidence Library.
4th February 2026 - Update from the Inspector
Some representors have asked whether they can participate in the discussion on Matter 6, scheduled for 8 March, to make comments about sites that have not been included in the plan. It is important to recognise that the Inspector is examining the soundness of the plan itself and its site allocations, not housing sites that have been omitted from it. The Matter 6 session is necessary to understand and assess the soundness of the Council’s site selection process, but this will be at a high level. There are several omission sites and it would be an inefficient use of examination time to hear detailed representations about their merits and demerits either from objectors or from site promoters. The Inspector will therefore not accept or consider such representations.
2nd February 2026
The Council has published its response to the Inspector's comments on Development Management Policies (IDJB-02). This has been added to the examination library.
26th January 2026
The Council has published its response to the Inspector's initial letter (IDJB-01) in the form of three topic papers:
These have been added to the examination library. In addition, the Council has added some additional documents to the Evidence Library.
16th January 2026
The Inspector has provided a Guidance Note and draft Hearing Programme for the forthcoming hearings, scheduled to commence on 24th February 2026. The Council has Given Notice of the Examination, details available below.
The Inspector has also provided the Council with comments and proposed modifications on Development Management policies and Matters and Issues for Examination.
The documents have been added to the Inspector's Documents section below and the Council will respond in due course.
24th December 2025
The Inspector Jonathan Bore has issued a letter (Letter IDJB-01) to the Council which has been published in the examination library.
8th December 2025
The Planning Inspectorate has written to inform the Council that a new Inspector has been appointed to conduct the examination of the Mid Sussex District Plan 2021 – 2039.
District Plan 2021 – 2039 Examination
The District Plan 2021 – 2039 was formally submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on Monday 8th July 2024.
The Secretary of State has appointed Jonathan Bore MRTPI to hold an independent examination of the Mid Sussex District Plan Review.
Information about the examination process can be found here. This page includes the Procedure Guide for Local Plan Examinations which provides detailed practical advice and a short guide aimed at people taking part in their first local plan examination.
District Plan Evidence Library
The evidence base and submission documents can be found on the District Plan 2021 – 2039 Evidence Library.
Programme Officer
The Programme Officer undertakes the administration of the examination under the direction of the Planning Inspector and all communications are handled by the Programme Officer.
Charlotte Glancy
Programme Officer
c/o Banks Solutions
64 Lavinia Way
East Preston
West Sussex
BN16 1EF
Mobile: 07519 628064
E-mail: bankssolutionsuk@gmail.com
Inspector’s Documents
| Reference | Document | Last Updated |
| IDJB-01 | Initial Letter from Inspector Bore | 24/12/2025 |
| IDJB-02 | DM Policies | 19/01/2026 |
| IDJB-03 | Guidance Note Mid Sussex v2 | 19/01/2026 |
| IDJB-04 | Mid Sussex draft hearing programme v5 | 19/01/2026 |
| IDJB-05 | Matters and Issues Mid Sussex 2 v1 | 19/01/2026 |
| IDJB-06 | Inspector comments on MS-08 | 17/02/2026 |
| IDJB-07 | Hearings Agenda - Week 1 | 20/02/2026 |
| IDJB-08 | Hearings Agenda Week 2 | 23/02/2026 |
Mid Sussex District Council Documents
| Reference | Document | Last Updated |
| MS-TP1 | Updates Since Submission | 26/01/2026 |
| MS-TP2 | Housing | 26/01/2026 |
| MS-TP3 | Employment | 26/01/2026 |
| MS-08 | Council Response to Inspector's Comments on Development Management Policies | 02/02/2026 |
| MS-09 | Further Response to Development Management Policies | 06/03/2026 |
| MS-10 | Housing Requirement - Scenarios | 24/02/2026 |
| MS-11 | Opening Remarks by the Leader of the Council | 25/02/2026 |
| MS-12 | Post Hearings – Site Selection Methodology Review | 06/03/2026 |
Hearing Statements
|
Reference |
Document |
Last Updated |
|
MS03 |
17/02/26 |
|
| REP-42889921-001 | CPRE Sussex Matter 3 hearing statement |
17/02/26 |
| REP-43066113-003 | Thakeham Homes Matter 3 hearing statement | 17/02/26 |
| REP-43735617-001 | H&SCPC Matter 3 Hearing Statement | 17/02/26 |
| REP-43865633-001 | dha planning obo Option Two Developments Ltd. Matter 3 Hearing Statement | 17/02/26 |
|
Reference |
Document |
Last Updated |
|
MS04 |
Mid Sussex DC Response to Matter 4 - Business and Industrial Needs |
17/02/26 |
| REP-42974241-001 | Response to Mid Sussex DC Matter 4 statement |
17/02/26 |
| REP-42974241-001a | ES Appendix 17.9.3 Assessment of Population and Housing Effects | 17/02/26 |
| REP-42974241-001b | GAL Letter to Mid Sussex MIQs consultation ISSUE VERSION | 17/02/26 |
| REP-43893889-001 | Turley obo Indurent Ltd. | 17/02/26 |
| REP-52067809-001 | Mr & Mrs Taggart Matter 4 Hearing Statement | 17/02/26 |
| REP-52278017-001 | Vail Williams obo Airport Parking and Hotels & Crawley Down Garage Pension Scheme - Matters 4 and 5 | 17/02/26 |
| Reference ID | Document |
| ID-001 | Initial Letter from Inspector Mid Sussex DP |
| ID-002 | Guidance Note |
| ID-003 | Hearing Programme – Stage 1 (v6) |
| ID-004 | Matters Issues and Questions – Stage 1 |
| ID-005 | Letter from Minister Pennycook to Chief Executive of Planning Inspectorate (July 2024) |
| ID-006 | Agenda Day 1 Matter 1 MSDC |
| ID-007 | Agenda Day 2 Matters 2 & 3 MSDC |
| ID-008 | Agenda Day 3 Matter 4 MSDC |
| ID-009 | Agenda Day 4 Matter 6 MSDC |
| ID-010 | Agenda Day 5 Matter 5 MSDC |
| ID-011 | Agenda Day 6 AOB MSDC |
| ID-012 | Inspector’s Stage 1 Post Hearings Findings |
| ID-013 | Letter Re Stage 1 Findings |
| ID-014 | Response to MSDC-002 |
| ID-015 | Full response to MSDC-002 |
| Reference | Document | Last Updated |
| MSDC-001 | Opening Remarks | 31/10/2024 |
| MSDC-002 | MSDC EiP - Opening remarks | 31/10/2024 |
| MSDC-003 | Response to Stage 1 Findings | 07/10/2025 |
| Reference | Document | Last Updated |
| MSDC-01e |
|
04/10/2024 |
| REP-42894849-001 | Sussex Wildlife Trust (Hearing Statement Matter 5) | 07/10/2024 |
| REP-42902785-004 | Jacqueline Simmons (Stage 1 Hearing Statement Matter 5) | 07/10/2024 |
| REP-43735617-001 | Hurstpierpoint SC PC (Hearing Statement Matter 3, 4, 5 & 6) | 07/10/2024 |
| REP-43849249-001 | ABC obo Elivia Homes (Stage 1 Statement Matters Statement 1-6) | 07/10/2024 |
| REP-43883585-005 | Thakeham Homes (Stage 1 Matter 5 Hearing Statement) | 07/10/2024 |
| REP-51373185-001 | ABC obo Antler Homes (Stage 1 Matters Statement 1-6) | 07/10/2024 |
| REP-52187969-001 | ABC obo Greenplan Designer Homes (Stage 1 Statement Matters 1-6) | 07/10/2024 |
| REP-52301377-004 | Watchdog for Inclusive Development (WILD) (Stage 1 Statement Matter 5) | 07/10/2024 |
| REP-43259969-001 | Dr Philip & Caroline Hart | 09/10/2024 |
