A row has erupted between two councils about where future housing development in West Sussex should be located.

Councillors at Mid Sussex District Council are angry because they feel other district councils are trying to push housing quotas into the area and encourage building to the west of Burgess Hill.

At a council meeting last night they singled out Horsham District Council as the worst offender.

It followed a recent report about housing which suggested Horsham did not need more houses and Burgess Hill was the best place for future development.

Council leader Christine Field said: "We have acknowledged development pressure from West Sussex County Council and we have not shirked our responsibilities.

"But several districts have moved from looking at their districts to other sites in our district.

"It is quite clear other districts will not confront their responsibilities. The approach is varied but the response is the same - major development to the west of Burgess Hill."

Mid Sussex has to take on 3,000 new homes while Horsham has to build 3,500 under the county council's structure plan for West Sussex.

Both Arun and Chichester have to provide for 1,265 each.

Councillors at Mid Sussex want all 3,000 homes built to the west of East Grinstead.

Coun Field said other authorities were "dumping" their housing in Mid Sussex and added: "We cannot and will not let them do it."

She said the report from Horsham was "short on planning and long on opinion".

She said: "It doesn't include in the body a single reference to the new dwellings to be provided in Horsham.

"However it does have comments to rubbish development to the west of East Grinstead and promote fast and wide development to - you guessed it - the west of Burgess Hill."