Forest Row or Forest Road?

Will you stand by and let Precott's wacky house building plans create a 50% increase in traffic through Ashdown Forest? Or will you make an effective response during the Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) Consultation Period which runs from 22nd May to 3rd July?

The planning process is complex and confusing, but we intend to demystify and simplify it for you over the next few weeks, so that you can make your voice heard, together with the other 5,000 residents in Forest Row, and 27,000 in East Grinstead, and make sure we bring a halt to this madness!

The first thing to do is join our email list (see left) so that we can keep you up to date with what's going on in Forest Row, including some informal workshops we'll be holding to make it easy for you to complete the response forms.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to get to grips with the issue by yourself, visit the MSDC site here, and the East Grinstead Post Referendum Campaign here.

What are the main issues?

Here are some points to consider before you respond:

1) Although it is widely accepted that we have a pressing need for more affordable housing, very few people accept that a development of 2,500 to 4,000 homes representing a 40% increase in the size of East Grinstead is appropriate. This is driven by a government obsession with economic growth concentrated in the South East, specifically Gatwick and Crawley in this case.

2) The South East cannot cope with this level of development, especially in respect of natural resources such as water supply, and protection of our internationally aclaimed Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB's) for example.

3) MDSC have attempted to sell this proposition to the residents of East Grinstead by promising them a "Relief Road" (euphemism for by-pass) as part of the package, to relieve congestion north of the town. However it's not that simple, and much heated debate in recent public meetings has centred on the fact that none of the proposed road options will provide such relief. This includes Route 3B which will cut through a designated ANOB, and terminate north of Forest Row. This option is also predicted to attract a 25% increase of through traffic across the Forest

4) Faced with the threat of 3B being adopted, the official position of Forest Row Parish Council is to escalate the problem still further, by pushing for a bypass extension to Wych Cross, cutting through an internationally designated ANOB, raising the traffic increase to 50%, and dumping the problem on Nutley and the remainder of Ashdown Forest "which quite frankly is their problem".

5) The only sensible strategy is to attack this proposal at it's root cause, which is the original government directive to build a completely unsustainable level of housing in this area. And during the next few weeks, we'll be advising you just how you can do that within the formal response process.

So sign up to our email list (above left) now, so that we can keep you informed!