Councillors must help shape a greener future for Sussex 

CPRE Sussex Campaign’s and Communications Manager’s column written for The Argus

Before the local elections earlier this year we asked all candidates to commit to six pledges to help shape a greener future for Sussex: 

• Support councils, housing associations and community land trusts to deliver genuinely affordable homes, especially for social rent. 

• Build on brownfield first, through prioritising the more than 1,200 acres of brownfield land in Sussex for new development. 

• Resist central government control on planning policy and push back on their sledgehammer housing targets. 

• Invest in nature recovery, through properly protecting and resourcing Sussex landscapes. 

• Champion a community-led clean energy movement through supporting local groups. 

• Hold water companies to account and use planning conditions to ensure new developments can only be built if there is enough capacity in the sewerage system. 

Now, with our new councillors starting to settle into their roles, we are asking all councillors – both newly elected and long-standing – to reaffirm their commitment to those pledges. 

Where we want to live 

At CPRE Sussex we want to work with councillors to shape a greener future for Sussex. But, with so many demands on councillors’ time, why should they prioritise the pledges outlined above? The answer to that question comes from asking the following questions about where we want to live: 

• Do we want a future in which young people can afford to live in the places and communities they grew up in? 

• Do we want everyone to have a voice in shaping the neighbourhoods where they live, work and play? 

• Do we want to try to stop heatwaves and flooding getting ever more extreme? 

• Do we want everyone to be able to enjoy the amazing countryside we have on our doorstep in Sussex? 

If the answer to these questions is “yes” then we need to work together to find practical, locally-driven solutions. 

Working together to protect Sussex 

The countryside is facing a multitude of challenges. But there are also practical solutions – from driving a rooftop solar revolution to raising awareness of forgotten green spaces. By working together, we can ensure that the next generation can not only afford to live in our beautiful county – but that there will still be beauty for them to enjoy. 

I hope councillors from across the political divide will join us and step up for a fairer, greener future for Sussex. 

Read more about the six pledges in Nancy’s latest column for The Argus here.