Battle of Beachy Head over £25m land sale
IT HAS been in public hands since 1929, when the citizens of Eastbourne banded together to buy the farmland around Beachy Head for the common good.
Indeed, the same desire to protect the landscape led to the foundation of groups such as the Campaign to Protect Rural England, tasked with the mission of protecting the countryside from the threat of urbanisation.
But now Eastbourne borough council is planning to sell the 3,000 acres of farmland around the gently rolling chalk downland of Beachy Head for an estimated £25 million.
The aim is to raise badly needed cash for the town’s coffers, but the plan has split opinion in the town, with oppo- nents accusing the council of betraying the principles that led to the land’s purchase.
At the time it was taken into public ownership, the council stated that its vision was to preserve “in perpetuity” the land’s beauty and the public’s access to it. Opponents of the sale claim that it will place the farmland at risk of piece-meal development.
They argue that despite the area being part of the South Downs National Park, it will be hard to stop new owners erecting modern farm buildings, ploughing up grassland for crops and building new access roads.
Brenda Pollack, of the Keep Our Downs Public (KODP) campaign, said: “The coastal area around Beachy Head is one of the most beautiful landscapes in England. While the council proposes to retain this narrow coastal strip, the four farms it is proposing to sell form a highly accessible and important backdrop to this area.”
She added: “Although this is farmland, there is a deep concern that remaining fragments of chalk grassland – an internationally rare habitat – will decline.
“Once in private hands, there will be no guarantees on how the land is managed.”
Eastbourne council is to hold a public poll on the issue on March 3 to gauge the views of the town’s residents.
Should voters back the sale, the land will be offered to some of the big landowners nearby, including the Chatsworth Estate, and the four tenant farmers who currently work the land.
The council says it will invest the money in revenue-generating ventures as well as using it to build a swimming pool and leisure complex to replace the existing one, which costs £340,000 a year to maintain, and a new conference centre.
But campaigners accuse the council of trying to bully residents into backing the sale. Simon Boyle, an environmental lawyer and member of KODP, said: “They are deliberately using scaremongering tactics by saying that it is a choice between the downs or vital public services.”
Eastbourne council said: “Contrary to some reports, the farms will remain farms, access across them will remain unchanged, as will the strict protection and controls that are enforced by the South Downs National Park Authority.”