Campaigners call for halt to ‘reckless developments’
Countryside campaigners have called on the government to halt the ‘reckless development’ of the West Sussex countryside.
The Sussex branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England is calling for land in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty – such as Chichester Harbour – to be protected.
It follows a report out on Thursday, April 22 from CPRE which found that pressure for housing development in Sussex is ‘particularly high.’
Dan Osborn, chairman of CPRE Sussex, said: “We are losing some of our most valuable green spaces and food land at a time when the nature and climate emergencies should be driving a different approach.
“Not only are we concreting over some of our most beautiful landscapes, new developments are not creating the affordable homes we want and need. The government must toughen up national planning policy so that we get a better outcome for people and nature. It says it favours beauty – it needs to act accordingly; not betray it.”
The CPRE report gave numerous examples of West Sussex developments affecting Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
A 600-dwelling allocation at Pease Pottage in the High Weald was approved by Mid Sussex District Council, despite arguments that the development did not meet local need and would compromise the landscape, CPRE said.
Land Off Crawley Road, Roffey, is comprised of farmland within the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
An application for 473 homes was refused planning permission by Horsham District Council but is now subject of an appeal.
Horsham campaign group Keep Our Green Spaces – KOGS – was formed in February last year to fight for this green space, which is described as ‘loved and enjoyed by so many’ and ‘an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty where we can walk to from our homes; an area which is good for the soul, families to play, animals to enjoy and memories to be made’.
Additionally, CPRE said a raft of applications in the vicinity of Chichester Harbour have been submitted to Chichester District Council in recent months, including plans for 301 homes on land at Highgrove Farm, Bosham. The Gazette has previously reported on the ongoing concerns of residents and campaign groups regarding the harbour’s future.
The CPRE report found developments on Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty use up twice as much land compared to the national average for developments.
Yet it said only 16 per cent of the homes built were considered affordable, even by the government’s own definition.
A CPRE spokesman said: “Tragically, the kind of housing currently being provided will do little to tackle the affordable housing crisis, while concreting over precious countryside and setting back action to tackle the climate and nature emergencies.”
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