Stop concreting over our fields

I write in regards to the planning appeal by Welbeck Land for 70 houses at Church Road, West Wittering.

Why the concern of the possible development of a couple of small fields on the Manhood Peninsula?

The impacts of climate change on our world’s fragile ecosystem are now obvious and intensifying. We have just experienced the violence of storm Eunice followed by Franklin. The highest winds ever, over 110mph, were recorded at the Needles and we have to expect even more extreme climatic events and sea level rise.

Concreting over our green fields is now no longer an option. We are the most biodiversity depleted country in Europe and our wildlife is struggling.

Church Road is part of a natural wildlife corridor running from the AONB to the RSPB areas of Medmerry and Pagham. In Church Farm Lane and on the Stubcroft fields we are fortunate to have pockets of undisturbed land where our wildlife can survive, thrive and avoid domestic predation. The dark sky area surrounding our threatened fields make it an ideal territory for our nocturnal creatures – bats, owls and birds of prey and the rarest UK mammal the water vole.

A recent UN report said if humanity wants to avoid catastrophic environmental damage we need to reduce our carbon emissions by half in the next 13 years and yet we have a planning appeal to replace productive arable fields with a high density housing estate requiring heavy industrial manufacturing of cement and chemicals which are producing 32 per cent of the world’s current CO2 emissions.

Science and research has proven that further development on the Peninsula is not sustainable or desirable at this time. I would suggest we should start placing a proper value on nature which has

sustained us here so well during the difficult times of Covid lockdowns and helped to preserve our health and wellbeing. It is essential that we should think ahead for our future generations and protect our wildlife and biodiversity.

Instead of growing housing estates in unsustainable areas, destroying ancient boundary hedgerows and productive farmland we should be encouraging our local farmers to re wild and plant native trees for the future of our planet.

TRISH MACKINNON Church Farm Lane

East Wittering