Greater protection for green spaces on the horizon? Sussex MPs have their say on SussexWorld housing campaign

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Reforms to be announced later this year will give greater legal protection to green spaces and place less focus on housebuilding in the South East, an MP has said.

Andrew Griffith has been a passionate advocate against ‘unsustainable’ development of Sussex’s green fields since being elected to Parliament in 2019.

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The MP, now director of Number 10’s policy unit, has responded to our housing campaign in his role as MP for Arundel and South Downs.

He said: “I’ve always shared the Prime Minister’s view that we should not be jamming homes into the South East and I am pleased that he has been clear about this.

Michael Gove. Picture by Getty ImagesMichael Gove. Picture by Getty Images
Michael Gove. Picture by Getty Images

“It’s also no good building on our chalky downlands when plenty of brownfield land is available for development.

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“I have been vocal both in Parliament and in conversations with my colleagues in championing legal protections for greenfield land, and in ensuring local councils have the tools they need to make use of brownfield sites.”

And Mr Griffith hinted at changes to come which could help ease the pressure on Sussex.

He said: “I am pleased that the government has committed to legal planning reform which we will hear more about later this year.

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“This reform will provide a new set of national planning policies giving greater legal protection to green spaces. Taking back control of our borders, ending uncontrolled immigration, will help to stop the pressure building.

“At the same time, the government is determinedly levelling up the whole country. This means that less focus will be placed on the South East allowing future development to be concentrated elsewhere.”

The MP added that to protect Sussex’s green spaces, London needed to start building on its brownfield sites, ‘rather than putting the problem on the shoulders of our communities’.

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SussexWorld – which comprises JPIMedia’s Sussex newspaper titles – wrote to all the county’s MPs seeking support for our campaign, which launched last week.

The campaign calls for stronger protection for our greenfield sites and greater powers for councils to determine their own housing needs and annual targets.

Henry Smith, MP for Crawley, said: ““I support the Sussex World campaign to protect our county’s countryside.

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“At a time when we are looking to better protect and recover our global environment, it’s important for us to start by acting locally.

“An example of unsustainable development is the west of Ifield proposal which would see Sussex green field concreted over, add to flood risk and water stress – these plans must be stopped.”

Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle, said he had urged the Housing Minister to ensure planning reforms recognised housing targets for councils should be based on planning applications they grant – not the number of homes built by developers.

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He argued the current system ended up requiring local authorities to grant ‘more and more planning permissions’, adding pressure to areas less suitable for development.

“This is a real problem in my constituency of Bexhill and Battle where over 85 per cent of land is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,” he said.

“We need a national planning policy which recognises the unique challenges of each area and incentivises building out where permissions are granted to make sure the new homes we need are built in the right area and give local people a real chance to get on the housing ladder.”

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Sir Peter Bottomley, MP for Worthing West, was a vocal critic against plans to develop part of Goring Gap, between Worthing and Ferring.

In response to our campaign, he said: “Local councils must be trusted to know how far and how fast housing can be increased on existing developed land. They can be trusted to defend green fields unless they decide otherwise.

“Central government must understand that a housing authority jammed between the sea and the South Downs National Park cannot meet unrealistic target.

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“Every field and green space and nursery and vineyard in the Worthing West constituency is under threat of development now.”

Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings and Rye, said the importance of green spaces to residents must be taken into account.

She added: “Building on brownfield sites has rightly been at the forefront of the Government’s work to tackle the United Kingdom’s housing crisis, and it is absolutely crucial that residential areas retain their green spaces.

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“Whilst greenfield sites can be a good option in some circumstances, local authorities must take into consideration other factors when deciding where to approve new homes and this should include, for example, people’s enjoyment of their green spaces and meeting self-set climate change goals.”

Chichester MP Gillian Keegan said she had shared her area’s challenges with Secretary of State Michael Gove.

She said: “I fully support any campaign that works to protect and preserve our natural environment.

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“At present, my colleague, Michael Gove, is reviewing our planning policy and I have shared my feelings about the importance of protecting environmentally important landscapes like ours.

“It is my hope that our new planning policy, once it’s published, will balance both the acute need for housing with an emphasis on conserving our beautiful area.

“This will be challenging and houses will need to be built, however, I will continue to voice the unique challenges we face in the Chichester district which currently sees development sandwiched into a relatively small geography.”

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Mims Davies, MP for Mid Sussex said she shared concerns about the level of development required in her constituency.

“Alongside my Mid Sussex constituents, I too have extreme reservations about the current level of housing need required for the area and how it can be met suitably, if at all,” she said.

“This is why I have already raised these absolutely understandable concerns about the potential size and position of sites for proposed developments in the Mid Sussex District Plan Review process with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove MP and the Housing Minister. I am calling for a review of the current, national proposals.

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“It is absolutely vital that we protect the identity of our rural communities, our agricultural land, and special sites – all of which we have in abundance in Mid Sussex – to ensure residents are supported, realistic future housing numbers are identified and any further sites required are sustainable, have the necessary infrastructure and that housing is available for existing local families to grow into or downsize to.”

* This article will be updated with MPs’ responses as we receive them.

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