The Brighton downland sale is not the only one. A huge area (nearly 4000 acres) of fabulous downland that currently is managed for wildlife and with unparalleled public access is being sold by Eastbourne town council. As this was bought for the people of Eastbourne through public subscrption in 1926 it is shocking that such a sell-off is even contemplated. This, the very eastern end of the south downs is exceptionally rich in plants and invertebrates. The future potential for landmark conservation initiatives is even greater. The Eastbourne downland is contiguous with National trust and East Sussex holdings stretching unbroken from Eastbourne to Seaford. All this potential will likely be lost if it is sold off.
More info here http://www.cpresussex.org.uk/campaigns/countryside/landscapes/update/item/2709-eastbourne-s-downland-selling-off-the-family-silver Sign a petition (Oh no not another one-but this one really matters) https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-sell-off-of-eastbournes-public-downland?source=facebook&; There is a meeting this Saturday https://www.facebook.com/events/1133206723395980/ Crucial moment in downland conservation is this! Evan Jones On 1 December 2016 at 12:23, <adastra-requ...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk> wrote: > Send Adastra mailing list submissions to > adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.sxbrc.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/adastra_ > lists.sxbrc.org.uk > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > adastra-requ...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk > > You can reach the person managing the list at > adastra-ow...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Adastra digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Fwd: lobby councillors to stop Brighton Downland sales (D BANGS) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2016 12:22:28 +0000 (GMT) > From: D BANGS <bangs...@btinternet.com> > To: Adastra discussion group <adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk> > Subject: [Adastra] Fwd: lobby councillors to stop Brighton Downland > sales > Message-ID: > <20594110.23597.1480594948375.JavaMail.defaultUser@defaultHost> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > > Normal > 0 > > > > > > false > false > false > > EN-US > X-NONE > X-NONE > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > LOBBYING BRIGHTON COUNCILLORS > TO STOP THE DOWNLAND SALES > > Please lobby > Brighton Councillors to stop these sales. The notes will help you write > your > objection, which is best put in your own personal way. Below are the > addresses > of the Brighton Council P&R Committee members who MUST be written to by 7th > December objecting to the sales. (The Committee meets on 8th > December to decide whether to make the STOP on sales permanent). > Additionally, > please send your objections to your own ward councillors. > > warren.mor...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > geoffrey.theob...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > leslie.hamil...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > tony.ja...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > phelim.maccaffe...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > tom.bew...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > gill.mitch...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > ann.nor...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > ollie.sy...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > andrew.wea...@brighton-hove.gov.uk > > FINANCE > > 1. The area of > open land ALREADY SOLD is c. 20 acres, which with the sold cottages has > accrued > c. 94% of the likely total ?? > receipts, though it covers only 20% of > the for?sale area. > > The area of land > STILL TO BE SOLD is c. 100 acres, which may accrue a mere 6% of the total > receipts, though it totals 80% of the for-sale area. > > 2. The Council has > already had its ?pound of flesh? > from the covert sales of cottages and small land parcels. If they sold 20 > cottages and grounds (and we > do not know exactly how many) that could total some ?4 million. The > sales of other land parcels has brought in > c. ?390,000. So the receipts so > far total c. ?4,390,000. > > 3. The remaining 2 > sales (Plumpton Hill and Poynings Field) will bring in very little > additional money: less > than ?300,000, though they will incur real damage to their future > security as conservation assets. Thus: - > - > Both > properties are subject to secure agricultural tenancies and will therefore > only fetch circa 50% of their value at > vacant possession. > - > Plumpton > Hill (67.4 acres) has a guide price of the pathetic sum of c. ?2,225 per > acre > and Poynings Field (25 acres) will be unlikely to get more than ?6000 per > acre. > - > Both properties, on those figures, together > will bring in only some ?300,000, which is the price of a single modest > suburban family home in > Brighton...for the loss of almost 100 acres of high quality Downscape. > > 4. We do not NEED > to sell those remaining two important properties, because there are other > routes to acquire the funds for the Stanmer Park restoration plans. > > The result of > BHCC?s ?5m lottery bid will be known shortly ? what matched-funding is > being > levered in, other than from SD National Park and Plumpton College > partners, to > achieve Stanmer Park?s proper restoration. With so much potential ready > cash on > the table, it should be relatively easy to attract more funds to multiply > this sum. For example: > To develop Stanmer as a more self-sufficient park > the lottery has an attractive Heritage Enterprise grant; > As a major visitor attraction with great an > eco-tourism potential, the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise > Partnership > would be keen to support appropriate infrastructure and employment > opportunities (and BHCC's role in the Greater Brighton Economic > Partnership should help this); > Stanmer provides the ideal outdoor (and indoor) > classroom for the hundreds of schools and colleges in and around > Brighton > and the Downs ? there are many educational trusts and funds that > could be > tapped to realise this desirable aim (and BHCC has an external funding > expertise to source such monies); > Government grants are available for a range of > work and BHCC has already spent DfT money on more sustainable travel > links > to Stanmer along the Lewes Road ? extend such projects into Stanmer; > Interest rates are at an all-time low, a public > loan could be secured, and with the popularity of a restored Stanmer > Park > the money paid back, with interest, in a very short space of time. > > > PUBLIC VALUES. > > These 2 remaining properties > have multiple public qualities/values. > > Plumpton Hill is mostly part of an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific > Interest - a national measure of > wildlife value). This designation, under private ownership, will NOT > protect it > from damage and inappropriate management. It also has a SAM (Scheduled > Ancient Monument) upon it: Bronze Age burial mounds. > It is one of the prominent viewpoints > from the South Downs Way over the forested Weald. > > Poynings Field is a key part of the landscape setting ? the framing ? of > the Devils Dyke heritage > landscape. It is also a vital part of > the setting of Poynings village, which will be vulnerable to pressure for > built development in private ownership. It is part of the landing grounds > for hang gliders from the Dyke. It is an > excellent fossilling site for sea > creatures of the Early Cretaceous, and is the only Early Cretaceous site in > public ownership on the Brighton Downs. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > /* Style Definitions */ > table.MsoNormalTable > {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; > mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; > mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; > mso-style-noshow:yes; > mso-style-priority:99; > mso-style-qformat:yes; > mso-style-parent:""; > mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; > mso-para-margin:0in; > mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; > mso-pagination:widow-orphan; > font-size:10.0pt; > font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://lists.sxbrc.org.uk/pipermail/adastra_lists.sxbrc. > org.uk/attachments/20161201/6f286657/attachment.html> > -------------- next part -------------- > A non-text attachment was scrubbed... > Name: KimBriefingKODP.docx > Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument. > wordprocessingml.document > Size: 17632 bytes > Desc: not available > URL: <http://lists.sxbrc.org.uk/pipermail/adastra_lists.sxbrc. > org.uk/attachments/20161201/6f286657/attachment.docx> > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Adastra mailing list > Adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk > http://lists.sxbrc.org.uk/adastra > http://lists.sxbrc.org.uk/adastra-archives > > ------------------------------ > > End of Adastra Digest, Vol 124, Issue 1 > *************************************** >
