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A NEW organisation to protect Worthing's downland is to be set up, following a successful meeting in the town last Friday.

The Sussex Newspaper has been told the event, at a packed Sidney Walter Centre in Sussex Road, was addressed by four local speakers, all of whom have had personal experience of campaigning to conserve the downland heritage.

And it unanimously agreed to set up a new volunteer group to act as a public watchdog or defender of the local countryside, including Cissbury Ring and Highdown.

Spokesman Trevor Hodgson said: “The turnout was tremendous, once again showing the strong local interest in our Downlands. It was unfortunate however that the invited council representatives chose not to attend, preferring to release a press statement instead. It will be a test of the council's commitment to the future conservation of the Downs as to whether or not they choose to accept similar invitations in the future”.

Glynn Jones, until his recent retirement, was South Downs Manager for the National Trust, and gave the meeting the benefit of his experience of working for over twenty years on the Downs north of Worthing, including Cissbury Ring. Glynn hoped to see a time when greater access and traditional animal husbandry would be the norm on the land adjacent to Cissbury, which is owned by Worthing Borough Council.

Maggie Winter from the Findon Valley Residents Association also made a plea for greater access, and asked why it was that so much of the council-owned land was surrounded by barbed wire, even though the land was fallow, being used for neither cereals nor grazing. She hoped that the council would seize the opportunity presented to them by the Higher Level Stewardship scheme, financed by Natural England, to both conserve and open-up the land for public enjoyment.

Chris Hare, a former councillor, who was one of the original members of the Sussex Downs Conservation Board when it was established in 1992, looked forward to a time when the Downs around Worthing would become sacrosanct. He recalled that on several occasions local people had protested in large numbers when the Downs were seen to be under threat, most notably when Worthing Borough Council was pressing for an A27 by-pass route close to Cissbury in the 1980s.

Dave Bangs, a well known author and campaigner on downland issues, highlighted the massive erosion of the ‘downland mantle’ or original greensward in the years since the Second World War. He provided maps, showing how this loss, caused by intensive ploughing, was especially marked around Cissbury Ring, leaving only isolated pockets of the original grassland remaining.
Mr. Bangs believed that a golden opportunity had now arisen for Worthing Borough Council to restore this ‘fractured landscape’ and create downland of which the people of Worthing could be proud.

There was an agreement that a permanent organisation should be created to keep a watchful eye of the Downs around Worthing, and particularly the land owned by Worthing Borough Council.

The following resolution was carried unanimously by the meeting: “This meeting agrees to change the ‘Stop the Cissbury Sell off’ campaign into a new organisation dedicated to supporting and defending the council ownership of all Worthing council’s existing downland estate, and supporting the management of this downland estate for public purposes, free of built development. These public purposes will include the maximum open public access to all this land, the enhancement of the wildlife resources of this land, especially with a view to restoration of the damaged down pasture mantle, and supporting sustainable farming initiatives.”

A provisional committee of the new organisation is expected to meet before the end of the month, to agree a name and a constitution.