Getting the message out!!!! First DUTD Sign Up Social a huge success
Don’t Urbanise the Downs is celebrating a hugely successful inaugural Sign Up Social event after more than 100 roadside placards were handed out at Plumpton Village Hall on Sunday.
The event was organised to help raise awareness of the fight against Eton’s plans to build a massive 3,000-house new town on 450 acres of rural farmland between South Chailey, East Chiltington and Plumpton.
The roadside placards are eye-catching and effective. We still have lots more to give out so if you are able to put a sign in a prominent position, please do put in a request via our “placard request form.” For those who already have a placard from 2021/2022, we have new “Round 2” stickers available for people to place on their existing signs.
The substantial turnout for Sunday’s Sign Up Social shows just how strongly locals object to the scheme. Eton’s “new town” lies right on the border of the South Downs National Park; numerous supporters also made signs explaining exactly how valuable this beautiful, unspoilt and protected countryside is to them.
A spokesperson for the Don’t Urbanise the Downs campaign group said: “We are absolutely delighted with how many turned up on Sunday, including people from Plumpton, Haywards Heath, Barcombe, East Chiltington and Lewes. All these places will be adversely affected by Eton’s proposals.
“As well as helping to put together and distribute our new, updated signs, people were also able to discuss their concerns about Eton’s plans with members of our team. The key worries are traffic, water supply and other infrastructure stresses plus environmental impact and the destruction of wildlife habitats . People also wanted to know where we are in the planning process.”
The next Sign Up Social is in Lewes on Saturday, September 5.
More details will be posted soon on our social media channels.
Don’t Urbanise the Downs committee members were joined on Sunday by several local supporters who were a big practical help. Many thanks especially to Paul Mitchell – who helped deliver lots of signs – and Nick Hale who spent more than three hours helping to put signs together.
Donations
Many thanks also to everyone else who came along and donated. Printing large signs is costly so we are very grateful for every donation, however small – the donation link is here.