Don’t Urbanise the Downs Information Days in Ditchling, Chailey and Lewes in November
Following the huge success of our first public Information Day in Plumpton last month, we are now planning three more events in November in Ditching, Chailey and Lewes.
Dates are as follows:
Saturday, 7th November, 10am-2pm - Ditchling Barn, Lodge Hill Lane, Ditchling BN6 8SP
Saturday, 14th November, 10am-2pm - Chailey Village Hall, near Five Bells Pub on A275, BN8 4DA
Saturday, 21st November, 10am-2pm - Lewes Quaker Meeting Room, Friars Walk, Lewes, BN7 2LE
Scores of people attended our first event in Plumpton to find out more about Eton’s plans to build a huge new 3,000-house new town between East Chiltington, Plumpton and Chailey. Eton’s plans would engulf these villages on one big urban sprawl and the knock-on effect of such a huge development would have a massive impact far beyond the actual site at North Barnes Farm.
Our Information Days give everyone the chance to learn more about Eton’s scheme and what it will mean for the local area in terms of environmental harm, traffic chaos, pollution and water depletion.
Don’t Urbanise the Downs campaign leader Steve Needham said: “It's vital that local people are fully informed about the scale and proximity of Eton's proposed development. The 455-acre North Barnes site, which Eton has owned since 1999, is right on the border of the South Downs National Park; a town here would absolutely devastate a very tranquil area of rural Sussex. It would cause irreversible harm to the environment, and – with an estimated 3.5 million extra vehicle journeys a year - cause absolute traffic hell.
“It’s really important that people understand the impact that this town would have on their lives. The threat is very real and very imminent. Eton have said they are putting in a planning application this year and they have already carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Report and launched a PR campaign. We need as much support as possible to fight it and that means making sure that people are fully informed.”
