New Salts Farm: Residents asked to help shape future for green gap between Lancing and Shoreham

A 70-acre piece of land was purchased by Adur District Council in 2020 to protect it from housing development and with the help of the Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust, this will become a new area of accessible green space.

The trust, which has already restored Broadwater Brook to create the new Sompting Brooks River Trail, is developing ideas for New Salts Farm to restore streams, wetlands, hedgerows and meadows, create an outdoor educational and training space and plant a community garden for local food growing.

Residents in the area are invited to give feedback and contribute ideas for making the site a haven for wildlife and a green space to be used and enjoyed by the community.

Find the survey here to have your say and share ideas: forms.gle/5nrDx8vdvyHUD8zMA

Peter King, director of the Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust, said: “This survey is a great chance for residents to share their ideas and priorities for the site. We are at the beginning of an exciting journey to ensure that New Salts Farm becomes a haven for wildlife whilst providing benefits to the wider community.”

The site is one of a number of areas of land purchased by the district council as part of its pledge to promote biodiversity and tackle climate change. It declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

The proposed wetlands, ponds, streams, hedgerows and regenerated habitats on New Salts Farm will help to store carbon and support an abundance of plant life, which in turn provide shelter and breeding grounds for a variety of other wildlife.

These habitats also help protect surrounding land from flooding while absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to decrease the effects of climate change.

Emma Evans, Adur’s executive member for the environment, said: “With the purchase of the land completed, we can now work on bringing to life our vision to return the land to its natural habitat and through doing so give a much-needed boost to the local biodiversity.

“By working in partnership with the community, our intention is for this to become a community green space that can be enjoyed by the residents of Adur today and for the generations to come.”

Adur District Council and the Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust are developing ideas for the site as part of an application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

CLICK HERE to see how rerouting Broadwater Brooks has created a hidden gem between Sompting and Worthing