A campaign group against a proposal for 3,000 new homes in East Sussex is urging residents to attend its upcoming drop-in days.

Don’t Urbanise the Downs (DUTD) said three drop-in days, where people can find out about the impact of the plans, are taking place this month, with each event running from 10am to 2pm.

The drop-in days are: Saturday, November 7, at Ditchling Barn (next to the church at Lodge Hill Lane); Saturday, November 14, at Chailey Village Hall (on the A275 close to the Five Bells pub); and Saturday, November 21, at the Friends Meeting House, Friars Walk, Lewes.

DUTD is opposed to the North Barnes scheme for new homes, facilities and parkland because the group says it will ‘engulf’ Plumpton Green, East Chiltington and South Chailey into an ‘urban sprawl’. The group is concerned the plan would generate around 3.5 million extra vehicle journeys a year, creating traffic congestion at Ditchling village, South Chailey and Lewes.

Don’t Urbanise the Downs campaigners at a protest at Plumpton Racecourse on September 5. Photo: Don’t Urbanise the Downs

placeholder image — Don’t Urbanise the Downs campaigners at a protest at Plumpton Racecourse on September 5. Photo: Don’t Urbanise the Downs

DUTD lead Steve Needham said: “Add in extra traffic movements from the plethora of housing developments already underway, or planned in the area, and the figures multiply to at least 15 million extra car journeys a year. Quite simply, a new town here would be utter madness and totally unsustainable. These notorious bottlenecks already cause chaos – imagine how long it would take to perform simple daily tasks like getting to work or going shopping if this new town is built. And if there’s an emergency at peak times, how will ambulances, police or fire engines be able to get through?”

DUTD said its members are also concerned about water, sewage, the loss of farmland and the impact on the countryside and wildlife.

The group has been against plans for a proposed new town in the area since 2021 and has pointed out that the North Barnes Farm site was excluded from a draft of the Lewes Local Plan in 2023. However, in April 2026 Eton College confirmed its involvement in a new plan for the homes after documents were submitted to Lewes District Council (LDC) seeking an opinion about a proposed North Barnes development.

Visit www.donturbanisethedowns.com.

A sign against the proposal for 3,000 new homes between South Chailey and Plumpton Green. Photo: Steve Needham

The North Barnes scheme proposes creating 3,000 new homes, along with a primary school, nursery, healthcare facilities and parkland. The team behind it includes Welbeck Land and the landowner Eton College, with the partnership being supported by ADAM Architecture and ECE Planning.

The team has described its project an ‘infrastructure-led development’, with its website saying the proposal ‘is being brought forward by a partnership with vision and conscience’. The website said: “North Barnes is conceived as a complete and sustainable community – a place, not just housebuilding.”

It said: “Crucially, infrastructure will be built early, delivering a coherent place where people want to live right from the start.”

The team’s website also described the site between Plumpton Green and South Chailey and north of the South Downs National Park, as a ‘genuinely sustainable’ location, calling it ‘one of best opportunities to create sustainable growth in Lewes district, close to a well-connected rail station’. It said: “Concentrating new homes and infrastructure in a single location is the best way to meet the area’s needs and can deliver far more benefits than piecemeal development.”

Visit www.northbarnes.co.uk.