LETTER: Champagne to raise revenue?

I am writing to express strongly my opposition to the sale of the downland farms. The downland was purchased by an earlier generation of Eastbourne residents to preserve it from development. I believe that we should honour those intentions and not sell the farms under consideration.

The downs are not just a physical entity, they are an emotional and psychological landscape – they represent quintessential England and, corny as it sounds, they have a place in people’s hearts. How is the council going to deal with the people of Eastbourne, or even of the UK, if those farms are sold to a Russian oligarch, or a Qatari sovereign fund or the Chinese State?

These entities have enough money to wear down a council or a National Park body, or even a State, in order to overturn covenants and build on the land. Sterling is weak and £15-30 million would be peanuts. Has anyone considered the awfulness of these possibilities?