Happy news from Save Our Starlings: On December 1st 2022 Brighton and Hove City Council’s Policy and Resource Committee adopted the new City Downland Estate Plan. The document speaks very consistently of transitioning to regenerative agriculture, and away from the toxic twentieth century farming systems. The Plan commits to supporting biodiversity, restoring chalk grassland habitats and protecting chalk aquifers: “All new farm leases will require the adoption of organic or regenerative practices and incorporate targets for improving public access, soil health and biodiversity as identified in the farm plan”. All tenants, whether agricultural, golf etc will be required to make a “farm plan”. There is also a commitment to protecting and restoring the natural night: “We will mirror the SDNPA policies on dark skies, determining how these could be incorporated in our own planning policies for developments close to the national park and the estate’s urban fringe. Working with SDNPA we will engage with National Highways, American Express Community Stadium and other key light polluters to identify how light emissions could be reduced, or made less obtrusive when viewed from the estate landscape.” A large number of people contributed to the consultation and development of this visionary plan, including friends from the Brighton Downs Alliance, local farmers, The UNESCO Living Coast Biosphere and Sussex Wildlife Trust in particular. It was also great to see Labour Councillors supporting the plan as well as the incumbent Green administration. The 118000+ supporters of this historic petition, the largest ever received by our City, have demonstrated beyond any doubt the strength of public support for nature in general, and our beloved Starlings in particular. THANK YOU! This petition also gained crucial support for the Starlings in the press adding further impetus to end the war on nature. Of course there is a huge amount of work still to do in terms of translating the vision into action, but for now, we can all celebrate together that this very positive progress is being made thanks to our collective love for the Starlings. And we can mark the first 200 of Louise’s Starling nest boxes which have now been deployed, and raise a glass to restoring the Brighton murmuration in 2023 and beyond. Cheers! Steve Geliot and Louise McCurdy