A community in West Sussex is mounting resistance to major housing construction plans, taking part in a national campaign to highlight building work’s impact on wildlife habitats.
A gathering in Henfield scheduled for April 18 will form part of a UK-wide Nature, Parks and Green Spaces Day of Action, organised by the Community Planning Alliance.
The alliance functions as a charitable body founded by volunteers in 2021, dedicated to safeguarding natural areas and promoting public participation in planning matters.
Critics maintain that Henfield faces developments potentially encompassing 1,400 new properties, which would enlarge the village by more than half its existing dimensions.
Planning permission was granted for 235 homes last year, while a scheme from construction company Taylor Wimpey proposing roughly 800 further residences on land to the northeast of Henfield has recently been revealed.
A spokesperson for the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Henfield stated that if developers manage to build even some of these homes, the essence of this neighbourhood will be changed forever. The spokesperson also noted that parts of current services are already stretched or reaching their limits. The group wants to maintain its status as a village with a real community spirit, and does not want to become a dormitory settlement. According to the spokesperson, Henfield is taking part in the CPA’s National Day of Action to demonstrate collective worry that communities throughout Britain cherish the natural world and want to see it protected and improved.
Andrew Griffith, the MP for Arundel and South Downs, contacted the leader of Horsham District Council in January, characterising the proposed development scale for Henfield as fundamentally unacceptable.
The schedule features guided ornithology sessions at the proposed building sites, heritage strolls, and talks on ecology and fauna preservation.
The CPA objects to construction on greenfield sites, pushing instead for prioritising previously developed land.
The organisation has secured support from presenter Chris Packham, who has warned that the English countryside risks potential ecological collapse.