16 December 2014

Please note: this news article is in our archive. Articles were correct at time of publication, but should not be relied on for accuracy after the passage of time.

MID Sussex District Council is introducing new planning measures which will provide Ashdown Forest with even greater protection from new housing development.

If new homes are built near Ashdown Forest, it places greater pressure on the forest from increased visitor numbers.

Therefore, from 1 January 2015, any developer seeking to build new homes within 7km of Ashdown Forest will be required to contribute towards a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG).

Research has found that increased recreational use at Ashdown Forest has the potential to disturb the protected birds, such as the Dartford warbler and European nightjar, which nest on the ground.

Natural England has advised Mid Sussex District Council that one of the best ways to protect Ashdown Forest from increasing visitor numbers is to provide alternative areas for people to visit.

Mid Sussex District Council has identified Ashplats Wood as an area of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace to the Ashdown Forest. Developers who would like to build new homes within 7km of Ashdown Forest will now be required to make a financial contribution towards improvement and management works at Ashplats Wood, or to provide alternative public open space themselves.

The requirement to fund a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace is in addition to the Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM) contributions that developers are already required to make if they wish to build within 7km of the forest.

The SAMM payments are for measures on Ashdown Forest that help to monitor the protected birds that nest in the forest during the breeding season and to manage visitor behaviour by funding education programmes.

“Ashdown Forest is a beautiful natural habitat that’s home to a vast array of wonderful wildlife,” said Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Planning.

“We’re so lucky to have it right here on our doorstep and these measures will help to protect it for future generations.

“Natural England has advised us that a joint strategy of SANG and SAMM contributions is the most effective way to protect Ashdown Forest from recreational pressure, so it’s great news that we’ll have both in place from the start of 2015.”