Bramber Brooks

11/04/2026

Hello! I’m looking for a new administrator for the Bramber Brooks page.

During our ownership of the land, I set up the page to share nature photos and information regarding Bramber Brooks. It was a great place to share positive news during the Covid pandemic and then our progress on negotiating the pond works with the Environment Agency.

We now have over 2000 followers to our page and it’s a great place to show off the new ponds, the improved biodiversity, local events and Bramber village news.

I no longer live in Bramber and it would be great for a local person to take the baton from me and use the page for the benefit of visitors and local residents.

If you’re interested… please send me a message with details of who you are and how you will be able to take advantage of this page and resource for the benefit of the community. It’s perfect timing as nature wakes up!

Many thanks

Nick

15/02/2026

22/06/2025

Terrific progress now with the new bird scrapes, walkways, bridges and wildlife habitat creation.

24/04/2025

An update from the team at Horsham District Council ...

April 2025
Following the on-site delay caused by the heavy rainfall in September, we are pleased to announce that the groundwater levels have now sufficiently reduced to enable the final stage of work to commence on May 6 2025.

Work will include the finalisation of the construction of the raised walkways and the installation of pedestrian bridges. This work is expected to last eight weeks.

During this time, there will be heavy machinery and vehicle movements in and around the site.

We will aim to keep disruption to a minimum and thank you in advance for your patience.

Any queries regarding this work, should be made directly to the Environment Agency at [email protected]

Bramber Brooks Environment Agency Works.

12/11/2024

07/11/2024

The future of Bramber Brooks…

Horsham District Council are holding a drop in event at Beeding and Bramber Village Hall on Wednesday 27th November between 4pm and 7pm.

They will be setting their long-term plans for the site and talking about future management, including opportunities for volunteering.

There will be a small display of maps and other information and a chance to talk with the wardens.

[email protected]

01/11/2024

The Environment Agency (EA) project at Bramber Brooks is going to be fantastic!

The EA have needed to down tools until the Spring and it does look a mess now, but it will be a real community asset when it's finished.

This isn't a scheme to tackle the Bramber flooding problems (although the ponds will help). That problem is being addressed, to some extent, by the Adur Landscape Recovery project.

What this project will achieve is a vast improvement in biodiversity. The freshwater ponds will be the home to migrating water birds, amphibians and a wide variety of new flora and fauna. The historical salterns are still being protected and the EA have had an archaeologist on site to record findings and to ensure key areas are not disturbed.

Sussex Wildlife Trust, the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust and other conservation groups have been great supporters of this scheme and agree that there will be huge local biodiversity benefits.

The scheme is direct mitigation for the nature habitat which was lost during the Shoreham Tidal Defence works. We were lucky to secure this project in our area.

Roll on Spring 2025!

14/03/2024

There seems to be a bit of confusion this week about the current ownership at Bramber Brooks. I’ve had a number of messages and emails from concerned local groups and residents.

Horsham District Council did complete the purchase of Bramber Brooks in mid-January which is really terrific news.

They are the perfect future custodians for the land and will now continue with the work we have started.

The nature reserve will continue to be a community asset and the land will still be included within the Adur Landscaoe Recovery project. I have also had confirmation that the Environment Agency (at long last!) hope to start work on the new ponds and bird scrapes in June.

I’m still around to provide support when needed and hope to bump into local familiar faces soon.

Nick

19/01/2024

Today is a day of sadness and joy.

I’m delighted to confirm that the sale of Bramber Brooks has today completed to Horsham District Council.

HDC are the perfect future custodians for the land and their ownership will now ensure that the land is managed for wildlife conservation. It also means that the creation of the new ponds and bird scrapes by the Environment Agency, is more likely to happen. That is the joy and optimism of the day.

The sadness comes from me having to step away from a project which has been my passion for the last eight years. The nature reserve we created will certainly now thrive and improve under the new management and is a new community asset. The community orchard is now established and the land is still included within the Adur Restoration Land project. I’m proud of what has been achieved and will now look for a new project!

Although you won’t see me on a tractor cutting the paths…. you may still see me behind a pair of binoculars checking out the fledgling owls! Do come and say hello.

Nick

25/03/2023

I'm afraid that I have some sad news to share.

Due to some restructuring of Riversong Limited, the company with the ownership of the land at Bramber Brooks, it has been decided that some assets of the company need to be sold. One of those assets is 34 acres of the land in Bramber and it will be fully marketed for sale in the next couple of weeks.

I'm a director and equity shareholder of the company but I do not hold a majority share and cannot afford to buy the land myself from the company.

Many of you will be aware of the conservation projects we have been championing in Bramber over the last six years, during the time that Riversong have been custodians of the land. I believe that we've made the land a proper community asset and I'm really proud of our achievements.

Our successes have included the creation of a new Bramber Community Orchard, the creation of a new private Nature Reserve with permissive access for visitors (without their dogs!), regular visits from schools and community groups and other wildlife related work.

We also now have a full design pack from the Environment Agency for the ponds and bird scrapes within the nature reserve, which will be going ahead this year in any case. I will ensure that whoever buys the land must allow this project to proceed as a condition of the sale. I will also post full details on this page over the next week or so. The full cost of the work will be paid by the EA and there will now be four ponds, with almost 500m of new raised pathways and new bridges. It will be fantastic.

We are also part of the Adur Landscape Recovery Project, a hugely exciting and dynamic project which will improve local wildlife biodiversity, improve river water quality and help tackle local flooding. I will do my best to ensure that a new owner continues to be part of this project, with the 30 other local landowners.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been approaching local landowners and conservation groups to see whether they would be interested in purchasing the land before it goes on general sale. I've spoken to the team at Knepp, the Wiston Estate and Sussex Wildlife Trust amongst others. There is strong interest from many of the groups but a sale has not been secured at this time.

I'm really determined that a sale should only be agreed to a buyer with the same principles, ideas and ethics as us and not to anyone with ideas for the use of the land which don't align with our own.

Please do send me a private message if you, or anyone you know, might be interested in acquiring the land at Bramber Brooks. I would be happy to work closely with the new owners if required.

Thank you for your support.

Nick