SaveBillingshurst campaign to influence new development. Their view is that development should be sustainable and in the right place.
In her own words Susie, tells us about the group's work to protect an area of woodland from developers and how this grew into something much bigger.
"I had only been living in Billingshurst for a few months when I first heard of Bellway Homes’ proposal to build an enormous housing complex on the outskirts of the village.
55 houses were to be constructed on two fields on the edge of Billingshurst, and a further 1750 on the larger fields nearby. We suspected that the land adjacent to the 55 houses was ancient woodland and the ecological consequences of both builds would be devastating and irreversible."
I had never been involved in any conservation action before, but I had studied two courses on Nature Conservation at evening classes with the University of Sussex, so I was very interested in and concerned about the ecological impacts. I joined SaveBillingshurst and my tutor from Sussex University put me in touch with the Woodland Trust, who visited the site and gave us information and advice at every stage of the planning process."
What happened next?
