Please help us save Coldwaltham Meadow from being built on.

This beautiful flower-rich hay meadow is at the edge of our village in West Sussex. If it is destroyed the meadow will be lost and we will merge with the next village of Watersfield. The two distinct villages will become a small town.

Meadows were once a common site in the countryside but sadly since the 1930’s they have declined by a shocking 97%.

We only discovered this June that our meadow is threatened.

Meadows like this are very rare. They are a crucial habitat for farmland wildlife. “We regularly see Barn Owls sweeping across the meadow late at night. Buzzards and Red Kites following the farmer when he cuts the meadow for hay. A fox and her cubs have been seen playing only this week in the meadow” said Stephanie Croft, a ocal resident.

“I have lived in Coldwaltham for over 50 years, having been born and bred nearby. The destruction of this meadow hurts and worries me, thinking of my children’s children never being able to run in or see the flower meadow’ said Jasmine Robinson, another local resident.

We need funds to pay for a planning expert to help us challenge the South Downs National Park’s proposal to include the meadow in its housing allocation and to campaign for the meadows conservation and appropriate management. The South Downs National Park has a duty ‘to conserve and enhance natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage’ and a ‘duty to foster social well-being of local communities within the national park’. We want to have a say in what happens. Our village is small, we have a small school, a pub and a church. Our post office is only open 3 mornings a week. There are no jobs and you need a car to get anywhere! An alternative brownfield site has been offered but rejected by the National Park.