We need to rethink housing – and how we deliver it

CPRE Sussex column written for The Argus, November 2026

We are fortunate to have some of our country’s most precious landscapes here in Sussex. But there is an ongoing conflict between the conservation of legally-protected landscapes and the desire to increase national housing stock.

This conflict must be resolved if we are to provide genuinely affordable, sustainable housing – and protect the countryside for generations to come.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

In theory, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) protects the most precious landscapes from development. It says planning decisions must give great weight to the conservation and enhancement of National Parks and National Landscapes.

The NPPF also says development withing these areas must be limited and major developments within a protected landscape should be refused unless there are exceptional circumstances and public interest.

This sounds hopeful until you consider the Government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes before the next election.

Under pressure to build homes

In Sussex local authorities are expected to deliver almost 15,000 homes a year to meet nationally-imposed housing targets. This means sites in protected National Landscapes are being put forward for development.

For example, following requests from the planning inspector, Mid Sussex District Council has added three major sites within the High Weald National Landscape to its Local Plan. It says 1,000 homes could be built on these sites.

This is not to meet its own housing need – which was met with room to spare under the original plan – but to contribute to the overspill housing needs of Crawley.

This raises a broader question. What is the point in creating a framework to protect landscapes if they can be turned into housing estates whenever another local authority has a housing shortage?

Tackling the housing crisis

Simply building more homes fails to address the root causes of the housing crisis. The real challenge is not the number of homes available but their affordability. We need to help first-time buyers stay in the communities they grew up in and ensure local people are not priced out of the market.

The Government has announced plans to build 300,000 social and affordable homes. But that is nowhere near enough to meet demand. At CPRE Sussex we believe it is possible to balance protecting our precious countryside with building affordable, sustainable homes.

Our vision for planning

The Government must enforce its own brownfield policy much more strongly. We also want to see enforceable targets for both affordable and social homes on shovel-ready brownfield sites.

We want local communities and councils to have a real say in decisions. We want to see new developments which protect and enhance nature and have climate action built in as standard. Finally, the planning process must be fair, transparent and accountable.

Sussex is the perfect illustration of the need to balance countryside protection and affordable new homes. Our councils are consistently failing to meet current unrealistic housing targets. The answer is not to treat the countryside as a dumping ground for more housing. It is to rethink what we need from housing – and how we deliver it.

Get in touch

If you are concerned about a planning threat in your area, you can get advice and report it to us here.

Read Nancy’s latest column in full on The Argus website here