Pagham horse and pony sanctuary facing uncertain future due to housing development

Pagham Ponies cares for animals at its stables at Church Barton House in Horns Lane.

But outline permission for up to 65 homes at the site was granted in 2019 and a recent masterplan has been submitted to show what the development will look like.

It is part of the Pagham South ‘strategic’ area which has been allocated for development by the council and which will see an additional 400 homes built south of Summer Lane.

Nigel Mundy, who runs Pagham Ponies and has rented the land for 17 years, said: “I was given notice to quit so I went through the rigmarole of trying to find a place for the horses, which is basically impossible.”

Mr Mundy has described how various arrangements fell through which threatens the future of Pagham Ponies.

“I’ve got nowhere else to go,” he said, “If I’ve got to get rid of the horses some of them are going to have to be put to sleep because they’ve got issues which mean they can’t go to a new owner.

“It’s a horrible situation to be in.”

He describes how his work started and how he has ‘gathered’ animals in need.

His son's girlfriend had a horse and was teaching him how to ride, but when he went over to the stables was told there wasn't a horse of a suitable size for him.