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‘Say No to Cuck-Stye’ held its first public meeting at Antsy Village Centre on Saturday, March 12, after the proposed development was allocated in a draft review of the Mid Sussex Local Plan published in January.

Mid Sussex District Council paused the process following a public backlash, but campaigners are worried the plan could be revived.

Both Cuckfield Parish Council and Ansty and Staplefield Parish Council are working together to oppose it and a ‘Stop Cuck-stye Action Group’ has been created.

'Say no to Cuck-sty' group as residents are worried about the housing proposed between the villages of Ansty and Cuckfield. Picture: Steve Robards, SR2203222.

Plans allocating thousands of new Mid Sussex homes paused

Ansty and Staplefield Parish councillor Jon Gilley said: “The people of Ansty and Cuckfield have enjoyed the long and beautiful walks, admiring the view for hundreds of years and we cannot understand why anybody would want to build on here.”

More than 170 people attended the meeting and there was a presentation by Cuckfield Parish Council chairman Andy Burton about the district planning process.

This was followed by a question and answer session with Michael Brown, Sussex chair of the Council for the Protection of Rural England, and Nick Beaumont, chair of Plumpton Parish Council.

Working party to review ‘paused’ plan for thousands of new Mid Sussex homes

The meeting also featured a video message from West Sussex County Council chairman Pete Bradbury and Mid Sussex MP Mims Davies who gave the campaign their support.

In the clip Mr Bradbury said: “There are good planning reasons as to why this development shouldn’t go ahead.”

Ms Davies said: “I’ve reached out to the planning minister and the secretary of state about the huge pressure we’ve got here in Mid Sussex, which could mean if we don’t fight hard we could lose the countryside views.”

Leader of Mid Sussex District Council Jonathan Ash-Edwards said: “The Council is mandated by national planning law to undertake a review of our District Plan every five years and we’ve published the results of this review so the community can understand the scale of the challenge we face in Mid Sussex.”

He said there are ‘significant issues’ that affect planning in Mid Sussex and that the district council paused the District Plan review process after taking all the factors into account.

He added: “We have written to Secretary of State, Michael Gove, to call for our housing targets to be reset to a level more consistent with our environmental and infrastructure constraints.”

Visit www.saynotocuckstye.co.uk.

Campaigners against proposal for 1,600 homes between Cuckfield and Ansty: ‘Say No to Cuck-Stye’ holds first meeting