A plan by Eton College to build 3,000 homes on farmland could wipe out one of Britain's most important breeding rivers for sea trout, outraged locals have warned.
The £48,000-a-year boarding school owns a large plot of unspoilt countryside in East Chiltington on the edge of the South Downs National Park in Sussex.
Part of the site is intersected by the Bevern Stream, a nationally important spawning ground for sea trout, whose numbers are dwindling.
But a developer working with Eton recently gave notice to the local parish council for plans to build thousands of properties on the 500-acre site.
Critics have claimed the college - which stands to make around £120million from the development - will take the money from the sale and run, leaving the land to be 'irreversibly damaged'.
Eton College has sparked local fury after revealing plans to sell large plot of unspoilt countryside on the edge of the South Downs National Park in Sussex to housing developers. It is claimed a 3,000 home site could wipe out one of Britain's most important breeding rivers for sea trout
Part of the site is intersected by the Bevern Stream, a nationally important spawning ground for sea trout, whose numbers are dwindling
The row is set to bring preservationists and countryside campaigners on a collision course with the Government which is under pressure to allow more housing on green belt land.
Furious locals have now set up a protest group called Don't Urbanise The Downs and are raising funds to seek specialist advice.
Marc Munier, the campaign's leader, said: 'The development would have a catastrophic impact on the natural environment here.
'Nothing would mitigate the irreversible damage that building a huge new town here would cause.'
He added: 'Trout are a flagship species in the Ouse catchment area, and their presence is a marker of the health of the river.'
East Chiltington Parish Council has already stated it sees 'no merit' in Eton's proposal
The prestigious boarding school in Windsor owns this large swathe of unspoilt countryside in the hamlet of East Chiltington
The Bevern is a chalk stream - one of the world's rarest habitats - and provides the perfect habitat for sea trout and other species to grow in.
The Ouse and Adur River Trust say the species are considered very important because, although relatively rare, their presence indicates a healthy river system.
Sam St. Pierre, vice chairman of the Ouse and Adur River Trust, said: 'Sea trout like to spawn in small gravelly streams and the Bevern is the most prolific spawning ground in the area.
'Sea trout from the Ouse grow to be enormous fish - even 12lb fish are not uncommon.
'This makes the river unique. If you go to rivers elsewhere, such as Wales or Scotland, the sea trout aren't nearly as big.
Furious locals have now set up a protest group called Don't Urbanise The Downs and are raising funds to seek specialist advice. Pictured: Marc Munier, the campaign's leader (left)
'If the Bevern got further
