Category Archives: SDNPA
“One law for them” [update]
Trevor Beattie admitted the wrong tiles had been used on the roof. .. He said: “The tiles used on the roof of Capron House were not those specified in the planning consent. We have therefore asked that the tiles are replaced with those we initially specified, as soon as possible, at no additional cost to the SDNPA and no delay to the project.”
Rampion wind farm now in doubt?
The Independent reports:
Plans for future wind farms in Britain could be in jeopardy after a United Nations legal tribunal ruled that the UK Government acted illegally by denying the public decision-making powers over their approval and the “necessary information” over their benefits or adverse effects.
The new ruling, agreed by a United Nations committee in Geneva, calls into question the legal validity of any further planning consent for all future wind-farm developments based on current policy, both onshore and offshore.
But this news does not seem to have reached the SDNPA and WSCC who are in dispute over who should sign off on the plans. The SDNPA, in particular, seems reluctant to approve the current plans on the grounds that they will cause “irreversible damage”. The Argus reports:
Keith Read, deputy director of planning for the South Downs National Park, said: “The SDNPA has significant concerns regarding proposals to build up to 175 wind turbines off the Sussex Coast. The plans would result in up to 420,000m² of disturbance to the national park’s landscapes, including some very sensitive areas such as the Bronze Age monument at Tottington Mount. We have submitted our concerns to the Planning Inspectorate regarding the proposed construction methods for the 14km of cable that would go through the national park.”
[Updated 29th August 2013]
“One law for them”
[A] condition imposed with planning permission requiring existing tiles to be reused was lifted. New tiles have instead been used to reroof the historic building .. Town councillor Colin Hughes hit out as members of the planning committee debated an application from the national park to ‘discharge’ another planning condition governing external insulation and lime render for the 1930s wing of the building. “I am concerned that the new tiles make Capron House look like a new housing development and I wonder what has happened to the original tiles. I don’t believe the South Downs National Park should be judge and jury over its own planning application – the plans they set themselves to achieve originally. I find it difficult that the national park can discharge obligations that it set itself in its original plans – obligations which presumably they felt desirable for this type of building in the first place. They lose credibility in terms of applications which come before them from developers in the future. It seems there is one law for them and one for everyone else.” .. The application to discharge condition seven governing the insulation and render was the fourth similar application to go before town councillors.
Network of cycle routes
The Department of Transport is giving the SDNPA more than £5 million to create a network of cycle routes into and around the South Downs National Park, including improvements to routes in Hampshire, extensions to routes in West Sussex, and the creation of new routes out of Brighton and around East Sussex. Routes that incorporate railway stations will get particular attention. Implementation is intended to take two years. Further details are due soon.
“Old red telephone box .. converted into tourist information kiosk”
This former BT telephone kiosk was installed decades ago in .. a hamlet nestling in the South Downs .. For years it remained unused, .. It has now undergone months of restoration work and now displays a large-scale map of the area with details of local places of interest and local amenities. It would also dispense leaflets and brochures provided by the South Downs National Park Authority, various institutions and by businesses in the vicinity.
More news from Fernhurst
“This is, I surmise, the biggest decision yet to be faced by the SDNPA and especially its planning committee. It is one they fail at their peril and at the peril longer term, of all life in the South Downs National Park – fauna and flora, visitors and residents, both animal and human.” [Norman Hodgson]
Happy Jack
Your Voice – Your National Park
We are in the exciting final stages of creating a Partnership Management Plan for the South Downs, setting out the priorities for everyone who lives in, works in, and visits the National Park. This is an important strategic document containing policies to ensure that iconic landscapes and wildlife are enjoyed, valued and cared for, and that communities and the local economy thrive.
Many of you may already have been involved with helping us shape the Partnership Management Plan, either through surveys, workshops, sending us a ‘Postcard for the Future’, contributing to the on-line forum or talking to us at shows and events.
For others it may be the first time you are reading this material, and this will be a chance to see if you agree with the work that has gone before.
The final draft of the South Downs National Park Partnership Management Plan is now available for consultation and we are seeking your views on this document.
The public consultation, ‘Your Voice, Your National Park’ will run until 16 September 2013.
This is your chance to let us know if you think the Partnership Management Plan will take the National Park in the right direction, and also to tell us how you might be part of this journey.
To take a look at the plan, and give us your views please go to www.southdowns.gov.uk/managementplan
We are encouraging people to respond electronically if at all possible to save paper, but if you prefer to receive a copy of the Management Plan and survey by post, email your name and postal address to managementplan@southdowns.gov.uk or write to us at :-
Management Plan Consultation,
SDNPA,
Hatton House,
Bepton Road,
Midhurst,
West Sussex,
GU29 9LU
