Our Changing Landscape

What are the big challenges facing the sussex countryside in the coming years and what will our landscape look like for the generations to come? Diane Millis reports.

- Diane Millis

ROLLING hills, chalk cliffs, bluebell-filled ancient woodlands – the stunning landscapes of Sussex are what attract many people to live here, and to stay. But these much-cherished open spaces face ever growing challenges and, for many, their future is far from secure.

A most obvious threat comes from the need to build more houses and infrastructure (roads, schools etc) as the number of people living in Sussex continues to grow. West Sussex’s population is predicted to reach 954,700 people by 2035 (a 19.1 per cent increase from 2010). Meanwhile, the population is East Sussex is projected to increase to 569,530 by 2027 up from 544,100 in mid-2015.

People are also living in smaller households. In East Sussex for example the number of dwellings is expected to increase by 10.5 per cent for a 5.5 per cent increase in population.

So where will all these new homes be built? A key factor influencing this is the amount of land that is protected by law from large-scale development, which in Sussex’s case is a lot.

Just over 52 per cent of West Sussex sits in a protected landscape – the South Downs National Park (SDNP) and two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) – and in East Sussex the figure is a little over 64 per cent. While this is a good thing in terms of offering a degree of protection for some of our most cherished landscapes, it does mean that areas beyond their boundaries will be particularly vulnerable to development.

James Humphrys, area director (Solent & South Downs) for the Environment Agency agrees that there is likely to be an impact in these areas. “There will be more housing, largely along the coastal belt. This will spoil some existing green spaces, but we will retain huge expanses of inland space, including the South Downs and the Weald north of it, almost all of which will remain pristine.”