Hundreds take part in mass trespass to stop Centre Parcs development in Worth Forest

Participants hope to put a stop to the development of a major new Centre Parcs holiday complex. The project was first revealed last October, when Centre Parcs bosses revealed they had secured an option to acquire Oldhouse Warren: 553 acres of privately owned woodland off Balcombe Road.

The company said it would seek planning permission to build a range of attractions on the site, including 900 lodges, indoor and outdoor leisure facilities, a variety of restaurants, a spa, and a 'subtropical swimming paradise.’ Between all these projects, as well as the construction of necessary new infrastructure the development is estimated to cost £350 million.

Now, conservationists and residents are conducting a mass trespass to make their feelings known. The event was organised by the Landscapes of Freedom and the Right to Roam campaigns, who are calling for the refusal of Centre Parc's proposal and for the area to be made into a ‘people’s forest’ like Epping Forest or New Forest.

A spokesperson said: “Worth Forest, which borders the outer fringes of Crawley, constitutes the largest bloc of ancient woodland in middle Sussex, but three quarters of it has no open access for the public.”

Worth Forest is situated within the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty, which gives it the same level of formal planning protection as a national park.

Other organisations, including the RSPB, the Woodland Trust, CPRE Sussex, the Sussex Wildlife Trust and ‘Protect Oldhouse Warren’, have also condemned the project, calling for the conservation of the ancient woodland on which it could be built.

Right to Roam campaigner Henry Jenkinson said: “The case of Worth Forest demonstrates how much of England’s woodland, along with 92% of our countryside, is forbidden to the public. The covid emergency proved that all of us need ready, free access to nature: it should be a right for all, not just the privileged who can afford it.”

Dave Bangs, co-founder of Landscapes of Freedom, added: “The energy use of this development alone will ratchet up climate change, and its transport implications will wreck the tranquility of the High Wealden forest district. How can people fight an ecocidal proposal like this if we are not allowed to use the forest that it threatens? We need to know and love this forest which is on our doorsteps if we are to defend it. What the eye cannot see the heart does not grieve.”

Today’s trespass takes place alongside the publication of a Right to Roam bill in parliament, introduced by Brighton MP Caroline Lucas. She said: “Worth Forest is of the utmost importance, and it’s vital that we save it. A precious wilderness, home to a wonderful myriad of species – from fierce- looking goshawks to tiny pipistrelles, small enough to fit in a matchbox, and to golden-ringed dragonflies. It’s why I have introduced a Bill to Parliament which would extend our Right to Roam in England and Wales to include access to woodlands, green belt, waters and grasslands.”

To find out more about Landscapes of Freedom, visit landscapesoffreedom.wordpress.com/.

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