Write to your MP, for the sake of the Sussex countryside.

The new draft of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is out for public consultation, but it’s not good. We are asking you to write to your MP, for the sake of the Sussex countryside.

The government has opened consultation on the latest NPPF (click here to see more) and there is much to be troubled by – but let us draw your attention to a clause that would tell councils they “should approve” development near any “well‑connected” train station with four or more trains an hour. This leaves many of our small countryside stations wide open to speculative, damaging development.

In Sussex alone, at least 17 rural stations outside protected landscapes could face default development for the best part of a kilometre in every direction. Stations such as Plumpton Green, Glynde, Berwick, and Christs Hospital could see major building works imposed around them, with councils having little power to say no. There’s a chance that even our stations in protected landscapes like Balcombe, Etchingham and Stonegate could be at risk too, as the government waters down safeguards and developers press their case.

And it’s not just the train station clause that troubles us – we’re also concerned that the new rules shift decision‑making away from local communities and hand more control to Westminster, sidelining local people who best understand their towns and villages.

We need urgent action to safeguard our countryside, train stations, and communities from unchecked development. Sussex MPs must raise these concerns with Housing Secretary Steve Reed — and we need to tell them.

Click here to take action to save our countryside stations.