The sale of Horsham Football Club's Queen Street ground in 2007 has left the club seeking an alternative venue within the town's boundaries in which it can continue to make progress on the pitch while providing a valuable asset to the community off it. The club has entered in to a groundshare agreement with fellow Ryman League side Worthing that will see 'The Hornets' playing at 'The Rebels' Woodside Road ground for a minimum of two years with effect from the 2008/9 season. The Holbrook Club, located in Heath Lane, has been recognised by Horsham Football Club as providing a perfect site for the development of a new ground and officially lodged a planning application in March 2008. 

As a result of concerns having been raised by local residents, Horsham Football Club will be hosting an evening at The Holbrook Club on Monday 19th May, between 6pm and 8pm in which members of the public can view plans for the new football ground. Directors and Horsham Football Club members will be available to answer any questions.

In a further bid to alleviate any issues raised by leaflets recently distributed by the Holbrook Neighbourhood Action Group, Horsham Football Club has released the following statement;

Horsham Football club has applied for permission to build a ground (the term 'stadium is hardly applicable to a development of this size) with a capacity of 3,000 spectators to include seating for 350. There will be cover for 900 people (standing and seated). The ground will conform to current health & safety and disabled access legislation. Horsham Football Club currently play in Step 3 of The Football Association (FA) non-league status 'Pyramid' and these plans meet the minimum FA requirements for a club at our position in the 'Pyramid'. The new ground structures will all be lower than the sports hall building at The Holbrook Club and will thus be all but invisible from North Heath Lane. The ground will be screened to the south and west by existing greenery and to the east by a line of trees which the club will plant as part of the development. The floodlights will retract to ground level and the perimeter fence will not be visible through the clubhouse and other existing buildings. The floodlighting system will be the same as the lighting system now in use at Christ's Hospital school where floodlighting has had to conform to planning requirements in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Where will the necessary income come from ?

The Holbrook Neighbourhood Action Group (HNAG) leaflet states "Horsham Football Club has already indicated that it will increase 'funding functions' but there is no mention of them or their impacts in this application'. Of course all clubs need funds but Horsham Football Club would hope to use the excellent indoor facilities already in place at The Holbrook Club when availability allows. These activities would be in line with existing usage of The Holbrook Club. It has been stated that Horsham Football Club will hold rock concerts and suchlike but that has never been considered in any shape or form by Horsham Football Club. The club has no ambitions whatsoever in that regard and ground sharing with another club is also out of the question. We have in fact already given assurances in regard to these matters to local council members. The club's playing pitch undergoes repair during the close season and is therefore unavailable for use during this period.

What does the Horsham Football Club planning application mean to me ?

Again, the HNAG leaflet implies that there will regularly be 2,000 - 4,000 supporters attending matches. To put attendances in context, Horsham Football Club has reached the second round of the FA Cup once in its entire history (2007) and only twice before (1966 and 1947) has the first round been reached. It is only on such infrequent occasions that Horsham Football Club is likely to attract a crowd of anything like that size. Horsham Football Club's attendances over the last few years average between 350 and 450. We expect similar attendances for matches at our new home. Parking has been addressed with great detail. There are 102 new spaces being created to add to the existing 66 spaces already in situ. The club will therefore have nearly 250% more parking spaces available than at its former home at Queen Street; the club had no problems with parking and no complaints from local residents regarding this matter. Horsham Football Club also has contingency plans in place to use local parking facilities, should the need arise. The club will also have the option to put on a shuttle bus service from the Hop Oast 'Park and Ride' facility. The club will have stewards in situ to ensure that traffic flows freely and that local streets are not used for the parking of supporters' vehicles. An added advantage of the new car parking spaces is that Holbrook members will have the use of them on non-match days, thus alleviating any traffic and parking problems which may arise from The Holbrook Club's own events. The football season normally starts around mid August, not July as stated in the NHAG leaflet. There may be a friendly match or two just prior to the start of the season. The noise created at matches is nearly all contained within the playing arena and this is noted in the comprehensive noise assessment report that has been submitted with our planning application. People who watch football at this level are well behaved individuals who enjoy following their local team. Visiting clubs rarely bring more than 50 supporters and generally average around 35. The club has on file, and for anyone to view, highly complimentary letters from Swansea City AFC relating to the excellent conduct of the club's supporters. Our supporters do not 'mill around' outside the ground. Most supporters arrive less than three quarters of an hour before kick-off and enter the ground immediately.

Is this the only way to keep The Holbrook Club ?

Although The Holbrook Club's current lease expires in December 2008, Horsham Football Club has offered the Holbrook Club a lease of 16 years at terms still presently being negotiated. Its is Horsham Football Club's long term objective for The Holbrook Club to thrive, in order to support and protect the investment it has made in this valuable community asset.

What happens if Horsham Football Club has it planning application refused ?

In the first instance, the club will appeal. An appeal means that the application is looked at by a Government Inspector and, if the club has established, technically and legally, that the application is a sound one, there is every chance that the appeal will be successful. If the appeal fails for whatever reason, then the club will have to consider its investment. When Horsham Football Club purchased the site, it competed with several property developers who saw this site as potential building land. Whilst there are strong restrictions ion green field sites, part of the site is brown field and with current pressures on local authorities, particularly in the south east, to build more and more homes, there is every likelihood that, very soon, the site could be sold for redevelopment. Horsham Football does not want that. The club wants to protect and enhance the community's leisure facilities as it has done for over 100 years. Please help the club to continue to do so.

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