Calling all Sussex Mayor candidates – make the Countryside Pledge

We are calling on all candidates for the first-ever Sussex mayor to make a pledge to our Sussex countryside, which is currently in danger more so than ever before. Read our open letter to all candidates below. 

Dear Candidate,  

I wanted to invite you to meet with us at CPRE Sussex, the countryside charity, to discuss the urgent priorities for Sussex’s countryside and environment, and how the Mayor could play a critical role in turning around a worrying situation.  

Sussex is defined by its countryside. The rolling South Downs, ancient woodlands, winding rivers, and patchwork fields are not just beautiful – they are vital to our economy, our wellbeing, and our sense of who we are.  

But right now, that countryside – and the communities that care for it – is under attack.  

People across Sussex feel angry, ignored and overwhelmed. They see green fields swallowed by soulless, car-dependent housing estates, while brownfield sites remain derelict and existing homes fall into disrepair. They see crops lost, and homes flooded, as climate change bites, but airport expansion is approved. They see our rivers and seas full of sewage, and farmland bird numbers collapsing.  

They feel abandoned by a system that puts developer and polluter profits before local needs.  

And they’re right to be angry.  

The government’s demand for over 70,000 new dwellings in Sussex over five years, coupled with the slashing of planning safeguards, has opened the floodgates to unsustainable sprawl. Yet there is brownfield land in Sussex with space for over 26,000 homes (around half of which already have planning permission) and the amount is growing year on year. To add insult to injury, only a very small proportion of new homes are for social rent (in Horsham district only 2% of completions in recent years were for affordable housing, none of which were for social rent) – failing the very people most in need of affordable housing, with over 2300 households assessed as being owed a homelessness duty.   

At the same time, the government’s obsession with cutting ribbons on big new infrastructure projects, regardless of local impacts, has led to their approval of a second runway at Gatwick – with devastating noise for local people, and massively increased greenhouse gas pollution for our climate.   

This isn’t growth. It’s erosion – of landscape, of trust, of identity.  

We urge you, as a candidate for Mayor, to put the countryside and its communities at the heart of your vision for Sussex. Not as an afterthought, but as a foundation.  

Consider this:  

• 84% of Sussex is not developed land.  

• 58% is farmland, with another 24% made up of woodland, open space, and water.  

• The visitor economy in East Sussex alone is worth £3.9 billion, supporting a total economic impact of £5 billion – comparable to the entire economy of Iceland.  

This is not empty land. It is working land, living land – and it deserves a champion for the rural communities who make it the special place that it is.  

As a potential Mayor, we call on you to commit to:  

• Brownfield first – Prioritise the over 1,200 acres of brownfield land in Sussex for new development. Make sure existing planning permissions are actually built. Push back against the government’s absurd and damaging housing targets. 

• Homes that serve people, not profits – Support councils, housing associations and community land trusts to deliver genuinely affordable homes, especially for social rent. Press government to reform broken “viability” rules that let developers sidestep their duties.

• Defend what makes Sussex unique – Protect and properly resource the South Downs National Park, the High Weald and Chichester Harbour National Landscapes, and develop new protections for the Low Weald.

• Back the rural economy – Treat the countryside as core to our economic future, reject the rhetoric of ‘nature vs Growth’. Report annually on its contribution to health, jobs, climate resilience and biodiversity – and make sure it features in every major decision.

• Give rural communities a voice – Appoint a Commissioner for Rural Sussex. Visit a rural area every week. Put town and parish councils at the table, not on the sidelines.

• Clean up rivers, support nature-friendly farming – Hold water companies accountable for sewage pollution. Press government for real support for farmers who protect wildlife and produce local food sustainably.

• Lead on climate – Set up a Sussex Climate Commission. Launch a major retrofit programme for insulation, solar panels and heat pumps. Invest in walking, cycling, public transport – not road expansion or airport growth.

This is a pivotal moment.  

You have the chance to lead a region that shows the UK how to grow without destroying what makes it special – where countryside is not collateral damage, but a core strength.  

Make that promise to the people of Sussex. 

Make that pledge to the countryside.  

We would be delighted to meet and discuss how you can lead the way; please do let me know if there would be a good time for you.   

With regards,  

 Paul Steedman  

Director, CPRE Sussex