CPRE Sussex welcomes Center Parcs’ decision to drop Oldhouse Warren plan

Center Parcs has announced today that it will not be pursuing its plans for a holiday park in West Sussex.

Center Parcs initially announced plans for its latest, and largest, holiday spa at the Oldhouse Warren site in the summer of 2021.

CPRE Sussex has worked from the outset alongside a coalition of environmental charities, including Sussex Wildlife Trust, the Woodland Trust, the RSPB and the Sussex Ornithological Society, and local action group Protect Oldhouse Warren to oppose the plans.

“Center Parcs could not have chosen a more environmentally-sensitive location for its plans,” said CPRE Sussex volunteer Michael Brown.

“Oldhouse Warren is ancient woodland with a history going back many centuries and part of it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It sits within the historic and ecologically-important Worth Forest, which is itself part of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

“Development of Oldhouse Warren would have been inexcusable vandalism, involving irreparable permanent damage to the ecology of the area, disaster for its wildlife, and making a mockery of the Government’s commitments to address climate change and the biodiversity crisis.

“The only wonder is why it has taken Center Parcs more than 18 months to come to the realisation that Oldhouse Warren was an entirely unsustainable place to site their planned new resort. We applaud the fact that they have finally succumbed to the pressure to think again and look elsewhere.”

CPRE Sussex continues to put pressure on Mid Sussex District Council to incorporate a policy guaranteeing greater protection for Worth Forest as a whole into its District Plan Review

We would like to thank our members and supporters for helping to save a very special part of Sussex.