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Hundreds sign petition to save 'nature haven' from housing development

Residents are calling for the site in Burgess Hill to be protected from development
Residents are calling for the site in Burgess Hill to be protected from development

RESIDENTS have expressed outrage over plans to build 300 new homes on a "rewilded nature haven".

A petition calling for the 15 hectares of land, situated between Burgess Hill and the South Downs National Park, to be saved from development has attracted almost 1,500 signatures.

Amanda Green, who lives locally and is part of campaign group South of Folders Lane Action Group (Soflag), said that the privately owned land has become a rewilded nature haven after having no human interference, and said she has seen wildlife including nightingales and cuckoos at the site.

She has called on the council to scrap the development plans, especially as the council could meet its housing quota without building new homes on the site.

Amanda said: "This is an extra site that they don't need to allocate. They've already got a healthy buffer, so if they withdrew this site, they would still make their targets.

"The leader of Mid Sussex District Council has in the last couple of weeks been saying the targets are too high anyway and that he's going to challenge them.

"It just feel as though it's the wrong place at the wrong time."

Michelle Parlett, who also lives locally, said that despite local opposition to the plans, as well as objections from local MP Andrew Griffith, the council are "just ignoring it all" and "dismiss whatever anybody says".

She said she was "thrilled" to see more than a thousand people sign the petition in less than a week.

"We just hope that the council will listen to us this time," Michelle said.

A spokeswoman for Mid Sussex District Council said that the site is part of a requirement by central government to show sufficient sites to ensure the council can meet housing and employment needs.

She added that a planning inspector is examining the plan and concluding his final report, which is expected to be published in March.

The spokeswoman said: "Should the inspector find the plan meets all legal requirements and is 'sound', the council will be able to adopt the plan, at which point the principle of development on the sites will be accepted, and will have full weight in the determination of planning applications."

The petition can be found at change.org/p/mid-sussex-district-council-save-our-rewilded-green-gap-from-development

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