We were delighted with the turn-out at the first of our November Drop-in Days which was held in Ditchling last Saturday. If you weren’t able to come along on Saturday, don’t worry - we have two more Drop-in Days coming up in Chailey and Lewes.
The dates are:
Saturday, 14th November - Chailey Village Hall, near Five Bells Pub on A275, BN8 4DA
Saturday, 21st November - Lewes Quaker Meeting House, Friars Walk, Lewes, BN7 2LE
All events run 10am-2pm.
Among those who attended the Ditchling event was local artist Grant Dejonge. Grant is a vehement opponent of Eton’s plans and also attended our protest at Plumpton Racecourse in early September.
We were also delighted to welcome a clutch of representatives from local councils - including Lewes District Council chair Charlotte Keenan, Plumpton & East Chiltington District Councillor Rob Banks and Paul Mellor, District Councillor for Ditchling & Westmeston.
The Drop-in Days give concerned locals to ask questions about Eton’s plans to build a huge new 3,000-house new town between East Chiltington, Plumpton Green and South Chailey. The scheme would engulf these villages in one big urban sprawl and would also have a massive impact far beyond the actual site at North Barnes Farm.
Much of the extra traffic generated by the town - an estimated 3.5 million extra vehicle journeys a year - would be funnelled through notorious bottlenecks such as the prison crossroads in Lewes while Chailey residents would face even more traffic and congestion on the A275
Our Drop-in Days give everyone the chance to learn more about Eton’s scheme and what it would 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.”
