It is always interesting to observe when MPs raise significant themes in Parliament and here are several existing Sussex MPs that have referred to Sussex Wildlife Trust in Parliament in the past. It will be very interesting to see if any of our MPs will raise it this next year. The most recent one was in September 2022 and the first one was in December 1997. So here are the MPs that have commented and indeed their current words. The first one that commented was Tim Loughton from East Worthing and Shoreham who raised it in December 1997 and also in May 2003, Caroline Lucas from Brighton Pavilion did so in March 2014 and she also added to a section in 2019, Maria Caulfield from Lewes in September 2016, Henry Smith from Crawley in October 2019, Andrew Griffith from Arundel and South Downs in September 2020 and finally Sally-Ann Hart from Hastings and Rye in September 2022.
What is the point of giving local authorities flexibility in planning future housebuilding levels if politicians simply reinstate their own inflexible figures?The Sussex Wildlife Trust stated:This makes a mockery of the enormous amount of work done to establish a sustainable level of housing development in West Sussex.
Another quote from the time of that report was from the Sussex Wildlife Trust, which stated that the news of the Deputy Prime Minister’s action was
“a severe blow against local democracy. The EIP process appears to have been a waste of time and resources. The month of eloquent discussion and the winning of the argument count for nothing against an ill-judged government direction.”
How right all those comments turned out to be.
Last week, I received a report from the Sussex Wildlife Trust that sets out an evidence-based approach to flood protection that was produced by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, which is made up of independent and professional people who are experts in their field.
Maria Caulfield September 2016
We have talked to the Minister about being a trial area for a vaccination programme and he has been very supportive of farmers in East Sussex. We would be ideal because we are an edge area and have support from our farmers, the National Farmers Union and our residents. We also have a trained and licensed group of volunteers ready to go, and the support of the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Henry Smith and Caroline Lucas – October 2019
Henry: In that recognition of where humans can enhance our environment, will the hon. Gentleman join me in paying tribute to the Sussex Wildlife Trust and the wildlife trusts around the country that do so much to support our environment with innovative and practical solutions?
Caroline: The hon. Gentleman is being generous with his time. It is great that we are all paying tribute to our local wildlife trusts; I will put in a word for the wonderful Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Andrew Griffith September 2020
I accept that they may currently be somewhat out of favour, but, as the excellent Sussex Wildlife Trust has highlighted to me, there are also extremely rare bat colonies relying on the native woodlands, ancient hedgerows and streams of West Sussex.
We might look, for example, at the work my hon. Friend Tim Loughton is doing with the Sussex Wildlife Trust on restoring the kelp forest off the coast of Worthing, which is helping to capture carbon. Restoring and maintaining blue carbon habitats in our seas could create jobs directly in conservation, as well as indirectly in nature-based tourism, helping to level up our coastal communities even further.
ianchisnall 