Burgess Hill Town Council included in the agenda for its Customer Services Key Area Group meeting on April 4th a proposal to rent out Batchelors Farm to a private company for long-term office spaces. At the May 2023 Town Meeting the town council insisted that it could guarantee that "not an inch" of the site would be built on. The proposal would involve work on the site to provide wi-fi to the offices, a toilet within a three minute walk from the offices and on-site parking for office users.
The company in question - Unlost Den Co state on their website that a membership is required to view the location of its dens, but adds that its dens are within 15 miles of Brighton. The private company provides a discount to members and currently its dens can be hired for two slots - 6AM-1PM or 1PM-8PM. The cost of hiring office space is from £59 per session for members and £179 per session for non-members. Prices are due to increase with the addition of two new dens, and membership grants members access to all the company's dens.
The company has security cameras and security lights at the entrances of its sites. The company is also planning to add overnight accommodation options, which would mean that the town council's nature reserve would not only be used as an office space for people from outside of town, but also a private campsite on council land. In addition to issues caused by parking, interference with views and work needed to install wi-fi connection, the proposal would also involve cabins fuelled by log-burners, which is rather at odds with Mid Sussex District Council's Net Zero targets. firewood is provided which means that the offices could theoretically be burning wood constantly from 6AM to 8PM.
In the agenda writeup for the proposal, Burgess Hill Town Council calls this idea "land guardianship". It does not elaborate on how renting out a patch of green space to a private office company benefits the land or its wildlife. It also claims it would create a "positive community of like-minded individuals", a claim made all the more ironic by the somewhat hostile claim on the same agenda on the subject of allotments. The Town Council, under pressure from those demanding the council fulfills its statutory requirements and ensures there are sufficient allotment spaces provided, has noted that allotments run at a loss to the council as if they should function as a business opportunity, and suggested they do not benefit the community. It does not say how the planned offices in Batchelor's Farm will benefit the community, however, and both issues combined give the impression of a council that is not interested in supporting its green spaces unless they can be sources of income. The agenda notes describe the proposal as a "low impact way to diversify income". The meeting will take place at 6:30 PM on Thursday, April 4th.
