MP backs residents' battle to halt 1,400 new homes in West Sussex village

He joined a huge turnout of residents and campaigners from the Campaign to Protect Rural Henfield and CPRE Sussex in Henfield on Saturday to rally against over-development in the village.

The gathering was a pre-event ahead of a Community Day of Action – a UK-wide Day of Action for Nature, Parks and Green Spaces – on Saturday (April 18).

Steve Bailey and Philip Johnson were among representatives of the Campaign to Protect Rural Henfield who invited the MP to discuss developers’ plans to build up to 1,400 more houses in an area which, say residents, has already accepted more than its fair share of increased housing.

Andrew Griffith said that an extra 1,400 houses in the area – 4,000 more residents – would ‘change Henfield forever.’ And he spoke about the deficiencies of ‘top down’ planning and how Horsham District Council, as the local planning authority, needed to respect the Henfield Neighbourhood Plan and make that an inviolable part of the district’s Local Plan.

He is calling on residents from Henfield and the surrounding villages to go along to the Community Day of Action on the Kings Field on Saturday April 18 to find out how every person can have a voice in opposing unsustainable over-development.

The Community Day of Action is a local event which is part of a nationwide initiative by the Community Planning Alliance. The family fun day in Henfield will include birdwatching tours at the proposed housing sites, heritage tours, and talks on ecology and wildlife, as well as foodstalls and an opportunity to find out more about the village.

Andrew Griffith said: “People in Henfield really care. They care about nature, the special ‘feel’ of their community, and that it continues to have the right balance between developments and the infrastructure – GP capacity, school places, clear rivers – that make it a sustainable place to live.

“That is why I have long-supported Campaign to Protect Rural Henfield and residents in their aims to protect Henfield and surrounding villages from developers’ threats to bulldoze through neighbourhood plans and green spaces.”