More ‘Crown jewels’ of Sussex countryside under threat

CPRE Sussex, the countryside charity, is calling on the government to halt reckless development in and adjacent to protected landscapes and prevent high levels of housing pressure in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in its upcoming Planning Bill. This is in response to a CPRE report ‘Beauty still betrayed: the state of our AONBs 2021‘ published today which found that:

• Pressure for housing development in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Sussex is particularly high.
• Since 2012, the amount of greenfield land in England’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty that will be built on has more than doubled (129% increase)
• Such development is ‘land hungry’ and is not solving the affordable housing crisis.
• In the last four years alone, planning permissions to build over 900 homes in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty have been granted.
• There is high housing pressure on land around AONBs, with the number of homes built in the setting (within 500 meters of the boundary) increasing by 135% since 2012

England badly needs a better land use planning strategy that accounts for climate change, maximises the use of brownfield land, provides badly needed affordable housing, ensures our food supply, and connects nature rather than fragmenting it.

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Press release