Andrew Griffith, local MP for Henfield and the South Downs joined a huge turnout of residents and campaigners from the Campaign to Protect Rural Henfield (CPRH) and CPRE Sussex to rally against over-development, meeting on Saturday at one of the conservation areas in the village. The gathering was a pre-event ahead of Saturday’s Community Day of Action.
Steve Bailey and Philip Johnson were amongst the representatives of CPRH who invited the MP to discuss developers’ plans to build up to 1,400 more houses in an area which has already accepted more than its fair share of more housing. They met at Southview Terrace which has enviable views of the South Downs across the Adur Valley.
Andrew Griffith took questions from the residents and talked about the deficiencies of a ‘top down’ planning and how Horsham District Council, as the local planning authority, needs to respect the Henfield Neighbourhood Plan and make that an inviolable part of the district’s Local Plan.
1.400 additional home – 4,000 more residents, would ‘change Henfield forever’ said the MP. He is calling on residents from Henfield and the surrounding villages to go along to the Community Day of Action on the Kings Field on Saturday 18th April and find out how every person can have a voice in opposing unsustainable over-development.
The Community Day of Action is a local event which is part of a nationwide initiative by the Community Planning Alliance (CPA). The CPA’s Day of Action for nature, parks and green spaces. The family fun day will include multiple events, including birdwatching tours at the proposed housing sites, heritage tours, and talks on ecology and wildlife, as well as food, stalls and an opportunity to find out more about the village.
Andrew Griffith said:
“People in Henfield really care. They care about nature, the special ‘feel’ of their community, and that it continues to have the right balance between developments and the infrastructure – GP capacity, school places, clear rivers – that make it a sustainable to place to live. That is why I have long-supported Campaign to Protect Rural Henfield and residents in their aims to protect Henfield and surrounding villages from developers’ threats to bulldoze through neighbourhood plans and green spaces.”
