South Downs National Park

Coordinates: 50°54′40″N 0°22′01″W / 50.911°N 0.367°W / 50.911; -0.367

South Downs
National Park
Part of the South Downs
Country	England
Region	South
Settlements	Eastbourne, Lewes, Brighton, Worthing, Arundel, Chichester, Petersfield, Winchester
Location	South England
Highest point
- location	Butser Hill,
- elevation	270 m (886 ft)
Length	112 km (70 mi), W-E
Width	11.2 km (7 mi), N-S
Area	1,627 km2 (628 sq mi)
Geology	chalk downland
Website: South Downs website

The South Downs National Park will be a National Park in the South Downs region of England. On 31 March 2009, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced that the area would be designated a National Park. It is expected that the park will be formally created in 2011.^[1]

Extent

Boundaries of the South Downs national park with respect to Greater London and South East England, as announced on 31 March 2009

The extent of the proposed National Park stretches for 90 miles (140 km), from St Catherine's Hill near Winchester in Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne in East Sussex in the east. The southern boundary of the proposed park lies a few miles inland along most of its length, excluding the coastal towns and cities of Southampton, Portsmouth, Chichester, Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, Worthing and Brighton, but it will include the towns of Petersfield, Liss, Midhurst and Petworth in the Western Weald, and Arundel and Lewes. It will include two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB): East Hampshire and the Sussex Downs. Unlike any other National Park, it will include an area of chalk downland.^[2] Approximately 1 million people visit the area each year.^[3]

Area

The park will have an area of 1,625 km², of which 544 km² will be in Hampshire, 807 km² in West Sussex and 237 km² in East Sussex. Among the district councils Chichester District Council has the largest area at 544 km², followed by East Hampshire District with 279km², Winchester City Council with 265 km², Lewes District Council with 159 km² and Arun District Council 102 km². 93 km² are in Horsham District and 60 km² in Wealden District. ^[4]

Population

The total population living within the park will be approximately 108,000. Of these 42,000 live in Hampshire, 40,000 in West Sussex and 25,000 in East Sussex. East Hampshire District Council and Chichester District Council each have around 30,000 residents in the area and Lewes District Council 22,000. Winchester City Council has 11,500 residents in the park, with much smaller numbers for the other districts and boroughs.^[4]

History of proposal

Of the twelve areas chosen in the 1947 Hobhouse Report, the South Downs is the only one yet to become a National Park. A decision was taken in the 1950s that ploughing of the downland had reduced its potential for recreational use, and AONBs were created instead.^[5]

The establishment of a National Park in the South Downs received support from the government in September 1999 and the Countryside Agency made an Order to designating the proposed park in January 2003 which was submitted to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 27 January 2003. Land near Arundel, previously proposed for a bypass was added to the proposed area for the national park in January 2004, after the Secretary of State for Transport decided not to proceed with the bypass.

Public inquiry

The cape of Beachy Head would lie within the future national park

As a result of objections and representations received on the proposed Order, a public inquiry was conducted between 10 November 2003 and 23 March 2005,^[6] with the aim of recommending to Government whether a National Park should be confirmed and, if so, where its boundaries should be. The results of the inquiry were expected by the end of 2005, but were delayed pending a legal issue arising from a High Court case challenging part of the Order designating the New Forest National Park.^[7]

Following an appeal on the High Court case and new legislation included in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, the South Downs Inquiry report was published on 31 March 2006, and recommended a reduction in the size of the originally-proposed National Park, including the exclusion of the Western Weald. The Secretary of State then invited objections and representations on new issues relating to the South Downs National Park. This consultation period ran from 2 July to 13 August 2007. In the light of responses received, the Secretary of State decided that it is appropriate to re-open the 2003/2005 public inquiry.^[8] The inquiry re-opened on 12 February 2008 and ran through March and April.

The Inspector closed this re-opened Inquiry on Friday 4 July, after 27 sitting days. The Inspector's report to DEFRA was submitted on 28 November 2008. In February 2009, the DEFRA website reported that the Secretary of State "anticipates that a decision will be made by early summer 2009".^[9]

On 31 March 2009 the result of the inquiry was announced, with the whole Western Weald area recommended to be included in the national park.^[10][11]

References

External links

• The South Downs Campaign
• Natural England website item on the proposed National Park
• Defra map of the intended boundary
• Defra map comparing proposed boundaries with existing ANOBs
• The South Downs Joint Committee