Plans by Center Parcs to build a £350m holiday resort in West Sussex would set a precedent to “tear the heart” out of ancient woodland, say campaigners.
The company wants to build 900 lodges, a “subtropical swimming paradise”, restaurants, and lay miles of tarmac on 550 acres at Oldhouse Warren in Worth Forest near Crawley. The site is within the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty.
The Woodland Trust, Sussex Wildlife Trust, CPRE Sussex, Sussex Ornithological Society and RSPB have issued a joint statement against the plans, stating that they made “a mockery” of COP26 commitments to end deforestation and were “steeped in irony”.
The government amended planning guidelines in 2018 so that permission for development which destroyed ancient woodland should only be granted when there were “wholly exceptional reasons”.
If resorts are deemed to be worthy exceptions, it is feared that other developers will put forward plans for ancient woodland sites.
