Ecological study shows Rookwood golf course is ‘wrong place to build houses’

A BioBlitz study of Rookwood Golf Course has shown that it is ‘the wrong place to build 1,100 homes.’
By Sarah Page
Published 19th Aug 2020, 15:19 BST
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

That’s according to the Friends of Horsham Park which hosted the ecological study with the Keep Rookwood Green Alliance.

The event took place on Saturday and a steady flow of people took part observing and identifying wildlife in the Boldings Brook area of Rookwood.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Friends of Horsham Park chairman Sally Sanderson said: “Many residents asked us to keep fighting to Keep Rookwood Green and we were very pleased to welcome Councillors Jonathan Chowen and Claire Vickers and to be able to share our concerns with them.

BioBlitz study at Rookwood Golf Course where plans have been submitted for 1,100 new homes SUS-200819-151007001BioBlitz study at Rookwood Golf Course where plans have been submitted for 1,100 new homes SUS-200819-151007001
BioBlitz study at Rookwood Golf Course where plans have been submitted for 1,100 new homes SUS-200819-151007001

“We recognise that Horsham District Council is under pressure to identify development land, but our analysis shows Rookwood is just the wrong place to build 1,100 houses.”

Among others taking part in theBioBlitz were tree warden and Friends of Horsham Park member Ben Brace and Neil Henry, trustee of Warnham Local Nature Reserve who said the BioBlitz survey showed “we are well on our way to showing how rich this area is in wildlife and habitat and how important it is to the reserve.”

Also taking part was Tim Thomas, from Friends of Chesworth Farm who co-ordinated a team of experts to help in the study.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “As soon as we’ve analysed all the records and photos we will be submitting them to the national biodiversity database.

“From an initial trawl through the records I can report over 150 different species seen from just the Boldings Brook footpaths in this one day and this total will rise.”

Among unexpected finds were a Wasp Spider and Notiophilus biguttatus - a big-eyed ground beetle.

Peter Simpson, a Friends of Warnham Local Nature Reserve trustee, said: “The council recently revealed detailed plans showing that the new Rookwood access roundabout on Warnham Road will destroy the reserve’s car park, that a new cycleway divides the reserve in half disturbing wildlife 24 hours a day, that a new access road cuts across the Redford Avenue football field and that building is planned on every high risk area that HDC’s ecology report identified.”

Related topics:Rookwood