Sussex countryside under seige

CPRE Sussex Director’s column written for West Sussex Gazette, October 2025.

The countryside is once again under siege as the Government puts forward a series of last-minute changes to its already controversial Planning Infrastructure Bill.

The changes include stopping councils from refusing planning permission while ministers consider using ‘call-in’ powers.

Judges would also be blocked from halting approvals while legal challenges proceed, allowing unlawful projects to cause irreversible damage to communities, wildlife, and the wider environment.

These eleventh-hour amendments represent a dangerous erosion of democracy.

They are an astonishing capitulation to the very developers who have consistently failed to deliver the homes people in Sussex need.

To make matters worse, the Government seemingly also wants to remove a key duty of councils and other public bodies to protect and enhance nature and wildlife within national parks.

The bid would seriously weaken the protections for these much-loved areas, including the South Downs National Park.

The housing secretary claims sluggish planning has ‘real-world’ consequences.

But so too does the removal of vital legal safeguards and constantly building unsustainable, unaffordable, executive homes.

Giving ministers powers to override local council rejections further strips communities of their voice, as does restricting access to judicial review.

The Government appears to believe that the only way to meet housing demand is to destroy the green spaces which protect our health and wellbeing.

They seem to dismiss the economic and environmental value of the countryside, and the communities that live and work in it.

However, there is an alternative to the Government’s ‘build baby, build’ approach.

Recent research by the national CPRE charity revealed there is enough brownfield in Sussex to build more than 26k homes.

These sites have been marked as suitable for development – and more than half of the homes already have some form of planning permission.

Prioritising brownfield would allow for quicker timelines and minimise the environmental impact of urban sprawl and building on undeveloped countryside.

It would also allow us to revitalise our towns and cities, creating vibrant, sustainable communities.

Brownfield sites are typically located near existing infrastructure, and the revitalisation of derelict sites can foster economic and social growth.

Indeed some, though definitely not all, of the ‘new town’ sites recently announced outside of Sussex have these qualities and are welcome.

This clearly demonstrates that it is possible to build the affordable and sustainable homes people in Sussex need while still protecting the countryside and nature.

What is required is not the removal of democratic safeguards, but a shake-up of our broken housing market.

We need proper investment in a planning system that works for communities, not just big developers, and for the Government to enforce its own brownfield-first policy.

We need to set ambitious and enforceable targets for both affordable and social homes on shovel-ready brownfield sites.

By doing so, we can deliver much-needed housing and preserve the countryside for generations to come.

Help us shape a greener future for Sussex. Visit cpresussex.org.uk/get-involved/