Trevor Beattie, the Chief Executive of the South Downs National Park Authority, will be speaking at St. Peter’s Church Henfield at 5:30pm on Saturday 27th February. Admission is free but donations to Family Support Work will be welcomed. It seems safe to assume that Mr. Beattie will not be using PowerPoint for his presentation.
Category Archives: SDNPA
South Downs Local Plan Road Show
Chris Paterson of the SDNPA writes:
[We] have sent out packs of posters and leaflets to all parish councils, but some of these packages do not appear to have arrived .. and therefore the publicity material has not gone out in the parish. I have had some parish councils confirm receipt of this material (Posters and Postcards) but not all.
If you would like to download a PDF of the full plan from the SDNPA website in advance of the roadshow, well, good luck. They will sell you a paper copy though — but you have to phone or email the SDNPA first in order to find out what it costs.
The South Downs Sahara
According to this newish SDNPA website, Fulking is in the midst of a desolate area in which it is impossible to buy or eat local produce. Saddlescombe Farm provides an oasis — they are the only local food producers. Perhaps the SDNPA will give them an award for raising sheep on sand.
SDNPA Cabling FAQ
Work is due to start this month on the cable ducts that will provide Lancing and Worthing rats with a safe and sheltered route from Brooklands Pleasure Park to Bolney. Click on the image above for the SDNPA’s notes on the matter. A map of the Edburton rat underpass can be found here.
Not a lot to do
According to the National Parks Authority, no events have been organized in the South Downs as part of National Parks Week. Congratulations to the SDNPA for their resolve in keeping visitors at bay, and residents’ diaries free of clutter.
Summer Breeze Bus
Brisk walks and bus rides – sounds like just the ticket. The new 77 bus timetable is out for the Dyke to Brighton route. This forms part of the “Breeze up to the Downs” partnership between B&H City Council, The National Trust and SDNP. It starts on 19th April, and from 14th June to 31st August you can, er, “do it topless”. More importantly it now connects with similar services to Stanmer Park and Ditchling Beacon. More details here…
Durand Academy update
The SDNPA reports:
We have been informed that the Durand Academy has withdrawn their appeal against the SDNPA’s refusal of planning permission at St Cuthmans School. All arrangements for the hearing have had to be cancelled at very late notice – on the eve of the pre-inquiry meeting. Both the SDNPA and the local community have devoted considerable time and effort to get to this stage. The withdrawal reflects the high quality of our original appraisal of this development and confirms our wider stance on major developments in the National Park. We are now moving to recover the considerable costs incurred to the public purse in preparing for this appeal.
Despite the pending bill, it seems that the Academy intends to revisit Overlook Hotel:
The appeal was based on a planning application we submitted in October 2013 and we are confident that, now we are settled and operational on the site, we can rework the proposition effectively. .. So we want to take the opportunity now to work closely with the local community and planning authority, to adapt and rework the proposition going forward collaboratively.
Perhaps they should hire Lee Newlyn as a consultant or relocate to Mayfield Market Town.
Update 20th December: the Midhurst and Petworth Observer has more information about the impending efforts to recover the costs of the appeal.
Our earlier reports on this potentially precedent-setting application can be found here (May 2013) and here (December 2013).
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear
The Duke of Burgundy butterfly is one of the most rapidly declining and threatened species of butterfly in the UK. Numbers have crashed by over 50 per cent since the 1970s and only about 100 colonies remain. In 2003, just eight Duke of Burgundy butterflies were recorded in the whole of Sussex. Over the next two years, Neil Hulme and Steyning Downland Scheme volunteers will be planting cowslip to encourage the Duke of Burgundy back to the chalk grasslands of the Steyning Downland. Neil has already been successful in seeing the Duke of Burgundy return to Chantry Hill, about nine miles west of the Steyning Downland. There will be opportunities for local people to work with Wakehurst Place/Kew; to collect cowslip seed and grow cowslip plants; to learn how to identify and monitor the butterflies; and to conserve their habitat. Anyone who is interested should go to the free launch event at the Steyning Centre at 7:00pm on Monday 8th December to find out more. More here.
Dark Skies Pledge
The citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea all took the pledge many years ago. Now the South Downs Democratic National People’s Park Authority wants you to take it too. Just click here. ‘No’ is not an option.