Green spaces under threat in Mid Sussex - campaign to save Cuckfield parkland

With thousands of new houses planned for Mid Sussex it is even more important that valuable green spaces are saved from development and the "strategic gap" between towns like Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath are protected. A recent Liberal Democrat led debate in Parliament raised this very point, and MP's were shocked to hear the Labour Communities Minster Iain Wright describe the principle, that brown field (previously used) land should be built on before green belt, as "rigid and old-fashioned" which clearly puts established principles of saving protected areas from development at risk.

This makes it vital that Mid Sussex District Council provides clear planning guidelines that cannot be exploited by developers to destroy our green spaces. This issue has been highlighted by Liberal Democrat campaigners in Cuckfield, where proposals for new development could mean Parkland Meadow, part of the local nature reserve is sold off for housing - see details of the campaign and petition at http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/parkland . Some areas should be sacrosanct for new housing, but unless they sort themselves out, under our Conservative controlled council no area may be safe from development.