Five-year plan to turn unused land in West Sussex village into community farm revealed

The former Riverside Equestrian Centre in Lancing will be transformed into a community farm with a focus on growing, wellbeing and heritage crafts.

The new environmentally-friendly development has been proposed and agreed in a partnership between Apron Creative and Adur District Council.

The aim is to start development on April 1, 2026, and complete the project in stages by 2031. The first phase will involve fundraising, environmental surveys, planning and community consultation.

Wetland and nature restoration will follow before the existing buildings are restored, then livestock and bees will then be introduced.

Apron founder Lis Long said: "We’re boosting biodiversity and natural ecosystems, supporting people in the community and providing opportunities for people to share and learn new skills, whether that’s in gardening, or traditional crafts that are in danger of being lost.”

Having previously worked at Hastings Contemporary and Worthing Museum, Lis started Apron in 2017, not long after her daughter was born.

She explained: "Although my job at the time was in the arts, opportunities locally for getting creative with my daughter were limited. Starting as a small-scale project running weekly pop-up arts and crafts sessions for parents and their children, Apron was born. Then the pandemic struck and turned all our lives upside down.

"Thankfully, with support of the council, I was able to take my little project outside. With the help of countless others from the local area, by spring of 2021 we had transformed a scrap of disused land into the Apron Community Garden.

"Since opening the garden, our activities have evolved and our learning and skills have developed. We’ve built an incredible team of volunteers, partnered with many local organisations, and grown more than just crops.

"The last two years have been challenging, not least for growing food in the changing climate, but also a pretty scary health situation for me and subsequent year of treatment.

"Throughout it all, being creative, being outside in nature and feeling like I’m making a positive difference has helped ground me and made me feel more hopeful.

"As we embark on this new and ambitious project my hope is that we continue to be embraced by the communities in which we work. It’s been quite the journey already, but it’s an exciting time and I hope you will join us along the way."

Apron, a community interest company, helps local communities thrive by creating vibrant natural spaces where people can learn skills, share experiences and grow food together.

There are weekly events at Apron Community Garden, in Buckingham Park, Shoreham, and to further support the local community, fresh produce from the garden is supplied to Shoreham and Adur Community Foodbank and Adur Community Cafe free of charge.

Schools have benefited from practical sessions involving planting and harvesting, and families travel from Lancing, Worthing, Brighton and Hove, as well as Shoreham, for Friday Nature School, wellbeing sessions, gardening sessions and heritage craft workshops.

Lis said: "At Apron we believe it’s hard to grow without getting your hands dirty. We work with local schools to show kids the magic of planting a seed, tending to a plant and harvesting their own food.

"It’s as simple as that. Connecting with their friends, the earth, and having something they can eat at the end of it. The stuff of magic!"

Over the next five years, Apron will return the land in Old Salts Farm Road, Lancing, to food production and create a vital natural space for people and wildlife to co-exist in harmony.

There will be farming and a garden in the east quadrant, a wetland and wildlife haven in the south, Forest School and wellbeing area in the west and a space for heritage crafts and education in the north.

Lis said: “The community farm project is the latest step in our journey, all with the aim of creating vibrant, inclusive green spaces where people from all walks of life can come together and thrive alongside nature.

“We’re boosting biodiversity and natural ecosystems, supporting people in the community and providing opportunities for people to share and learn new skills, whether that’s in gardening, or traditional crafts that are in danger of being lost.”

As well as a market garden and orchard, the Lancing site will have wellbeing and therapy sessions, an educational space, an area for children’s forest school, ponds and workshop spaces for traditional craftspeople to share their skills.

Andrew Harvey, Adur District Council's cabinet member for the environment and leisure, said: "This new community farm project is a brilliant example of the council’s commitment to ensuring our natural land is protected and put to best use for the whole community.

"We’re excited to see how Apron Creative can replicate their community garden success on a larger scale and help make our local community stronger, healthier and happier.”

Lis’ hope is to emulate the success of the EPIC (Enhancing Places, Inspiring Communities) Project put in place by Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust in Sompting.

The project has so far been funded via small grants from The Pearce Foundation and Funding People, but given the scale of the development, Apron is calling on local businesses, residents and organisations to ‘grow together’ by supporting their £20,000 crowdfunder appeal.

Lis said: "We’re immensely grateful to those who have helped fund our vision to date, but we still have so much more to do. This project is truly going to be for the whole community, so it would mean the world for the whole community to get behind us in whatever way they can and help make our vision a reality, with a beautiful, vibrant and dynamic space where all are welcome to spend time in and alongside nature.”

Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/apron-community-farm for more information and to make a donation.

Lis said: "We are saving this land, which was once market gardens, for generations to come. As we embark on this new and ambitious project my hope is that we continue to be embraced by the communities in which we work. It’s been quite the journey already, but it’s an exciting time and I hope you will join us along the way."