Football Pitches: Club Statement

Statement released by The Ghyll Trustees

Part of the statement released today (7th October 2025) by The Ghyll Trustees related to their 3G Pitch Plans. We are disappointed with their statement which does not, in our opinion, accurately reflect the discussions we have had with them.

We were invited by The Ghyll Trustees to a meeting at Beeson House held on Friday 26th September 2025 in which we were informed of their progress on an appeal against Horsham District Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for a 3G Pitch at The Ghyll. 

This was the first meeting to which we have been invited by The Ghyll Trustees, and having been made aware of their intentions, we expressed our view that a 3G Pitch in the village could be a fantastic community asset and, should one be built, we would be keen to make use of this. We have no doubt that there are numerous benefits of being able to relocate many of our teams from artificial pitches in, or around, Horsham to somewhere in Southwater.

Refusal of planning for Land South of Two Mile Ash Road

Our own planning application, which would have seen five grass pitches created (as a replacement to those recently lost at Phillips Field) for use by our junior teams, primarily for matches, was recently rejected by Horsham District Council. 

Whilst we are disappointed with the outcome and feel that many of the reasons for rejecting the application are very short sighted, we respect the planning process and do not have any plans for an appeal.

Next Steps

We have a further meeting scheduled for this Thursday with Southwater Parish Council and we have placed the onus on them to find a solution to the need for football pitches.

In an earlier meeting we have made it clear: i) how many pitches are required, primarily for matches to be played on Saturday and Sunday mornings, ii) how a floodlit artificial pitch, primarily for training during the winter months, would benefit our Club, and iii) how these facilities could be shared with others,