Category Archives: National Park

Le Weekend

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Jean-Luc Godard 1967 Weekend
From the West Sussex County Times:

New research published by the [South Downs National Park] Authority shows that a fifth of Sussex parents travelling by car have felt their blood pressure rise and one in ten has been reduced to tears. And a third of drivers have pulled over suddenly because of fighting and more than a third have had their plans ruined by traffic. .. Nick Stewart, from SDNPA, said: “We all know that travelling by car can be a demanding experience, with tantrums and traffic jams often causing stress levels to rise.”

More bus propaganda here. Those who prefer bribery to moral exhortation should note that bus passengers can “get discounts at the Shepherd and Dog Pub in Fulking and the Hiker’s Rest at Saddlescombe”.

Updated 31st July 2013.

New South Downs Book Series

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New South Downs National Park book series
UPDATE, 21st July: all three volumes are now available — my copies arrived a couple of days ago, GJMG.

There’s a new book series on the South Downs with volumes on the archaeology (John Manley), geology (David Robinson) and natural history (Robin Crane and Rendel Williams). The geology volume appears to be available now but note that there’s a slightly discounted price if you order all three volumes at the same time.

Mapping the woods

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Aerial photo versus LiDAR showing hidden archaeological features

A regular aerial photo compared with a LiDAR image of the same area. The latter reveals archaeological features that are hidden in the former.

The BBC reports that:

Ann Bone, the authority’s cultural heritage expert, said laser technology on a plane would be used to produce a map of the landscape under the trees. Archaeological work on the ground would then follow .. Maps will be created of the most densely-wooded area from the River Arun to the A3 road. .. Data gathered by directing a laser at the ground and measuring the reflected light would provide a three-dimensional map showing all the “humps and bumps” under the forest.

The £935,756 project has received nearly £662,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and up to £130,000 from the park authority.

Update: the SDNPA press release.

The Masterplan

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Map of Stanmer Park
A free concert in which a reformed 0asis perform their old B-sides in Stanmer Park? No, sorry. More like an exercise in which B&HCC attempts to get external funding for all those tasks that have been left undone since Brighton Corporation took the estate over back in 1947. However they are providing an excellent large-scale PDF map of the park which may prove useful next time you visit.

Do you own woodland?

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Hovil Wood (not to scale, derived from the 1842 Edburton Tithe Map)
If so, you may be (slightly) interested in some PDF flyers that have been lurking on the SDNPA webserver for the last couple of weeks:

You’ll learn that the SDNPA has “a collective landscape-scale approach that will encourage networking for environmental, social and economic gains and champion local timber”.

Councillors overrule SDNPA

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Slatey Barn, Langford Farm
The Chichester Observer reports that:

An application to turn a deteriorating barn at Langford Farm, in Lavant, into a home, was recommended for refusal by planners, who said they considered the building to be a heritage asset. The South Downs National Park Authority was not satisfied there was sufficient evidence to demonstrate an essential need for a rural worker to live on the site, as was proposed. However, councillors disagreed, saying it was a good use for the building, which was falling into disrepair and was no longer an asset to the farm in its current state. .. Councillors overturned the officers’ recommendation and voted in favour of the scheme.

SDNPA chair re-elected

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Margaret Paren OBE, chair of the SDNPA
The West Sussex Gazette reports that:

Margaret Paren OBE has been re-elected as chair of the South Downs National Park Authority for the fourth year .. [She] became chair at the authority’s inaugural meeting in April 2010. Her working career was spent in Whitehall, mainly in the Ministry of Defence but also with spells in the Cabinet Office and in the National Audit Office. Following early retirement she became involved in local community activities and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England. From 2001 she was involved as a campaigner for the National Park and as a member of the South Downs Joint Committee.