Horsham Lib Dem leader appeals to save West Sussex countryside

Twenty-one years ago, the WSCT, West Sussex Gazette and the county council ran a petition to save our countryside. More than 20,000 people signed the petition protesting against thousands of new homes to be sprawled across our precious countryside. Writes Frances Haigh, Lib Dem Group Leader for Horsham District Council.
Countryside scenics.  Pic Steve Robards SR2004131 SUS-200413-183914001Countryside scenics.  Pic Steve Robards SR2004131 SUS-200413-183914001
Countryside scenics. Pic Steve Robards SR2004131 SUS-200413-183914001

The key objections included: Protection of vulnerable wildlife habitats; preservation of the unique West Sussex landscape; inadequate infrastructure like roads, schools, water supplies, etc; a determination not to squander our most precious environmental resource’ and the need to spread economic growth across the whole country and not exacerbate the north-south divide by concentrating it all in the South East.

The petition was taken to the door of Number 10 by a cross-party contingent of all West Sussex MPs, senior county councillors, both Conservative and Lib Dem, Labour representatives from local councils, key activists from protest groups and newspaper editors.

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I was there from Keep Rusper Green, along with councillor Liz Kitchen from HDC and representatives from Southwater Action Group. My daughter delivered the petition to Number 10 on our behalf.

Roll forward 21 years and West Sussex is still threatened by housing developments, despite the many thousands of homes that have been built in that time and the thousands more which have permission and are awaiting build out.

The housing numbers are being driven by the Conservative government and its Build Back Better programme. Building back better should not mean destroying our precious countryside.

Yet again, we have to ask why do we need all of these homes here? The impacts of Covid and Brexit are still being felt; where will people work when the main driver of our economy is Gatwick which is currently floundering?

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What about the change in work patterns that means that so many commercial sites in larger towns and cities will no longer be required? Major businesses are already switching to working from home on a permanent basis.

There may well be multiple opportunities to redevelop brownfield sites in cities, as already seen in some northern cities faced with redundant shopping centres.

My inbox is full of emails asking me to prevent development at Rookwood, Buck Barn, Adversane and Ifield. Online petitions have collected thousands of signatures. As a councillor, there is little I can do to prevent development; I will have no choice over which sites are selected and will have to choose between either voting for the scheme that is proposed, or of voting against, leaving the whole district a target for developers.

It is time once again to work together, to take these arguments back to Number 10, and ask the Government to save and protect West Sussex; the beautiful countryside on London’s doorstep.

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