Music And Fashion Icons Back Campaign Against West Sussex Industrial Claypit In Woodland

Sixties' modelling and fashion icon Pattie Boyd, and Genesis founder member Mike Rutherford are among villagers objecting to plans to develop woodland near Loxwood into an industrial clay pit.

The wooded area, west of Horsham near the border between West Sussex and Surrey, is near land that has been used in previous years for extracting clay. 

But the landscape today is predominantly rural, and includes public footpaths through Pallinghurst Woods that take walkers and horse riders deep into natural habitats, away from the noise and pollution of main roads.

A company, Loxwood Clay Pits Limited, says it intends to put a planning application before West Sussex County Council for permission to use the land, which it owns, to excavate clay shale, and build a recycling facility to allow recycled materials to be used to restore the clay pit when extraction is over.

This could be in some 31 years' time.

According to the company, the development is intended to allow extracting about 400,000 tonnes of clay for brick making and other construction/industrial applications.

When extraction on the site is over, the company said it intends to restore the site as a forest, with the addition of a small fishing lake for the community.

The company also points out that the removal of clay for construction has a long history in the immediate area.

Many villagers strongly reject the idea of this development, and have formed a protest group, "Stop The Clay Pit".

Among its supporters are local resident Pattie Boyd, and Mike Rutherford who also lives nearby — both leading personalities within their cultural fields.

Pattie Boyd became one of the 1960s most famous models with a look said to "define Western fashion for women".

But she is also a photographer, with a continuous career that began in the 1960s, with many exhibitions and unique examples of portraiture to her credit.

She also has been married to George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and was the inspiration for, among others, the songs "Layla" (Clapton, performing as "Derek And The Dominoes"), and "Something" (performed by The Beatles with George Harrison as lead vocalist).

In a short film promoting the campaign, she described the woodland as an "enchanted forest", and said:

"I love being here and hate to think of it being destroyed.

"It is so peaceful and beautiful, the air clean, no sound, it’s wonderful.

"Imagine the tranquility of this woodland, enjoyed by all of us, as well as wildlife for hundreds of years, replaced by heavy machinery and noise disturbance, six days a week from 8am to 6pm."

Mike Rutherford, also a local resident is a founding member of Genesis — and, at the time of writing, had just returned from rehearsing with the band for a forthcoming tour.

The musician told More Radio:

"They're talking about forty lorries a day, for the next 35 years. 

"These are small lanes — I used to walk my little kids down the lanes, on ponies, which is hard enough to do now, let along with big lorries coming down. 

"It will just change the environment... the noise levels... the atmosphere, most importantly.

"It seems like madness, to me."

They, along with the other campaigners, point out the site's status as an "irreplaceable" habitat important for its wildlife, soils, recreational value and cultural, historical and landscape value.

Families with children, residents and visitors, walkers and cyclists make extensive use of the established public right of way on the site, according to the group.

They've argued that "development of this scale in the woods can potentially affect old woodlands, ancient and veteran trees, and the wildlife they support on the site or nearby".

There are also considerable worries about the ability of local, narrow roads to support dozens of heavy trucks carrying materials, and the pollution this will cause.

One of the group's main aims is to gather and develop sufficient evidence against the development of the clay pit to cause West Sussex County Council to reject any planning application that goes ahead.