LETTER: Fight to keep the green lungs open

As leader of West Sussex County Council from 1997-2001 I set out a policy to protect strategic gaps between settlements. ‘No ifs, no buts, no building in strategic gaps’.

By The Newsroom

Published 15th Feb 2014, 08:00 BST

Reading the excellent letters in the County Times on the subject of further building on land between Crawley and Horsham prompted this response.

Green gaps between established towns must be protected - as strongly as possible.

But do not rely on local authority planners - the professionals - to help you. They are always between a rock and a hard place. And it is easier for them to find reasons to escape the pressures than it is to resist building in sensitive areas.

A glance at a map of the county will show, over a period of 50 years, how the land between towns/villages has diminished. In certain areas it is down to a few hundred yards.

Crawsham, Bogchester, Arunworth are all possibilities - if residents do not fight to keep the green lungs open.

Please excuse my intervention - an outsider - in your local issues.

GRAHAM FORSHAW

Parklands Avenue, Goring by Sea

West Sussex County Council Crawley