We reported that developers were attempting to build on open spaces within the Welkin. The proposals (applications DM/22/1890 and DM/22/1893) failed to recognise that green and open spaces form an integral part of the Welkin’s design. This could have created a precedent for importing urban blight into the heart of the village and we urged residents to object. Mid Sussex District Council has rightly refused permission for both applications. While an appeal is always possible, the council’s decision sends an important message that inappropriate, speculative development in the village centre will be resisted.

Government Planning Legislation: This remains the single greatest threat to our countryside. A “Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill” is currently under development. It would centralise radically how planning decisions are made, giving national development policies the decisive role. There would be no obligation to involve the public in developing these policies. The bill also contains a new mechanism allowing the Secretary of State to grant permission for controversial developments, bypassing the planning system altogether. The public would have no right to be consulted as part of this process. Any protection for communities against overdevelopment – which under current legislation is already feeble at best – is in danger of evaporating.

The past decade has seen planning powers increasingly centralised, resulting in unrealistic housing targets dictated from above and developers being allowed to do largely as they please. This has resulted in unwanted and unneeded speculative housing schemes that disfigure desirable locations while a shortage of truly affordable housing stubbornly persists. More of the same will not do. We urged residents to contact our MP at the time, Mims Davies , asking for her support in resisting the new legislation and further erosion of protection for the public.