Saltdean neighbours save badger land with plans to create haven

Residents in Mount Drive in Saltdean had been attempting to raise £45,000 to buy a patch of land behind their homes with plans to safeguard badgers, foxes and other wildlife living there.

Now, after a monumental fundraising effort, the group has finally bought the land having raised over £17,000 in the space of two months.

Debbie Julians, one of the fundraisers behind the project, said: “I still get emotional about it. When we did it I went out there with tears in my eyes and whispered to the badgers: ‘you’re going to be safe now, you have a forever home.’

“We’re still pinching ourselves about it. I’m over the moon it’s absolutely fantastic.

Badgers in the field (Image: Debbie Julians)

“It was a struggle together, it has been four and a half years in the making.

“When we first bought it and it was ours, whether people saw me or not, I did a little cheers to our neighbours and to the badgers, of course.”

Debbie, her husband Peter, and around a dozen other houses clubbed together to buy the land as a sanctuary for badgers and other wildlife.

The Argus previously reported that the group had raised thousands over the course of over four years and need a last push to get the project over the line.

After setting up a GoFundMe to gain community support, the group were stunned when money began to pour in from badger conversation supporters around the world.

Foxes in the field (Image: Debbie Julians)

Debbie added that she had received money and messages of support from as far away as Ontario in Canada.

Now, the group say they plan to create a “forever home” for the badgers including cutting away overgrown brambles in the area and buying goats to help maintain the field.

The field, bought through a Community Interest Company, is tied to the properties involved in the project rather than the residents. It means that should residents move away from the area the land would remain locally owned.