Get involved
There are many ways in which you can get involved in SOSA’s campaigns, whether or not you are a SOSA Member:
1. Attend a demonstration or a march
Show your support by joining us on one of our exciting public events. SOSA is currently running a programme of marches and peaceful protests across Sussex, with many more events to follow throughout 2012. Our next protest will be on:
Saturday 28 April at 2pm
Broadbridge Heath
next to Newbridge Nurseries on the A264
Please join us for a protest about the savage and needless destruction of the iconic oak trees at Broadbridge Heath and show your support for the people of this small West Sussex village as they face the commencement of a huge development of 963 houses on greenfield land.
It is sadly too late to save this site from development, but it is not too late to send a clear message to planning authorities and developers that this mindless destruction of the Sussex landscape needs to STOP.
You can read about exactly what happened to these beautiful trees and find out which developers have interests in the site here:
All of our protests are peaceful and all members of the public are very welcome to attend, whether or not your action group or organisation is already a SOSA member. Our protests generally last for around 30 minutes, and we always ask that all those who attend do not cause any obstruction to people or vehicles in the vicinity of our events and that attendees remain on publicly-owned land at all times.
SOSA wishes to make it clear that, while recent SOSA protests have taken place outside Conservative Party HQs across both East and West Sussex, our opposition is based on principles, not on party politics.
We strive to be an apolitical umbrella organisation, and we would take the same stand against any political party which was seeking to introduce such damaging planning reforms, or was willing to sacrifice such huge swathes of the countryside to large-scale development. It is the Conservative Party which is spearheading and defending the ‘National Planning Policy Framework’, and it is this Party which is also now advocating the removal or weakening of crucial EU legislation which protects biodiversity, on the grounds that this vital protection of the UK’s flora and fauna involves ‘ridiculous cost’. It is therefore the Conservative Party which must be the focus of SOSA’s protests at the present time, but we are watching out for any damaging ‘pro-development’ changes to the manifestos of other major political parties too.
Previous events
Following its participation in the successful and thought-provoking demonstration in Worthing organised by Hands Off Our Sussex Countryside in October, SOSA Members came out in force at a gathering outside Conservative Party HQ in Horsham in early December. Our Members and supporters made a peaceful but powerful stand against the current planning reforms and the threat to the countryside. We were delighted to see such a strong show of support for our organisation’s objectives. We organised a further event in Hove in January 2012, and our guest speaker was Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP for South East England. The Argus and the West Sussex County Times showed great interest in covering the event, and we received a fantastic write-up in the press, including video footage on The Argus‘ web site. See our ‘SOSA in the press‘ page for more details.
2. Sign our petitions
Our e-petition is fast and simple to sign. Please sign it today and email the link to your family and friends:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/19604
You can also request our paper petition for your area, addressed to your local Council, and help us by getting signatures from your friends and neighbours. Then return the signed sheets to us and we will present the completed petitions to each Council on your behalf in 2012.
3. Take part in planning decisions affecting your local area
If there is a planning application in your local area which will result in the loss of greenfield land or a valuable open space for your community, turn your frustration into positive action and send in a letter of objection to the Planning Officer. Attend the Hearings on the application and speak when given the opportunity to do so. You can directly affect the outcome by presenting clear arguments and by explaining to the Council why the land matters so much to the community. Even if the planning application is ultimately permitted, you will know that you were part of the opposition and did not just sit back and do nothing.
SOSA aims to support all its action group members who are fighting inappropriate development in their villages and surrounding areas. SOSA can attend Public Exhibitions and Council meetings in your area wherever possible, and it will add its voice to your letter-writing campaigns and objections to planning applications. As a SOSA member, you can also become part of this valuable support network for other campaign groups.
4. Keep writing to your MP and the press
If you are more comfortable writing letters than attending public events, your skills can be put to very effective use by maintaining steady pressure on your MP through letters. You can also keep planning issues on the front page of your local paper by writing letters to the Editor and making sure that local reporters are made aware of unsuitable development proposals in your area.
The Consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework has now closed, but you can continue to lobby your local MP and urge them to fight it, and to block George Osborne’s plans to weaken legislative protection for biodiversity. There is also still time to sign the ‘Save Our Countryside’ petition organised by 38 Degrees and you are encouraged to help them reach their target of 125,000 signatures.
