Sadly, in the other 3 cases, development schemes that CPRE argued were inappropriate have been allowed to proceed. The problem created by the absence of a current Mid Sussex District Plan and the Council's inability in the meantime to demonstrate that it is meeting its housing supply target proved too formidable to prevent development on greenfield and heritage sites that could otherwise still form part of our green and pleasant land. So a mixed bag of results, but a demonstration that all is not hopeless where there is a strong enough environmental case to be made against a clearly inappropriate development proposal.

One of the 3 cases that has gone against us in recent days has been the hard fought application to build over 200 new houses on what the Planning Inspector acknowledged a "attractive" arable land to the north of Haywards Heath bordering the High Weald AONB opposite the listed Borde Hill Park and Estate. That is sad in itself; and it is very worrying in terms of the potential precedent it sets vis a vis other larges tracts of rural land in the same area that developers have targeted for exploitation.

We have also spent considerable time preparing and submitting our response to the public consultation on the latest version of Mid Sussex's proposed new District Plan. If you would like to know more please read our separate posting on that subject and the documents that are linked to that posting.