Trevor Beattie explains to the BBC how an overspend of £2.5m on a budget of £1.5m is ‘leading by example’ and ‘setting a benchmark’ for the National Park as a whole.
Category Archives: SDNPA
Take the Lead
This rather vulgar SDNPA cartoon appears to be aimed at dogs and children rather than their adult human carers. You will want to position your dog or child in front of the computer and then leave the room as quickly as possible. It morphs into an SDNPA endorsement for a brand of commercial dog food at the end.
“My best day in the South Downs”
Written in the style of a travel review, the 500 word entries can focus on one just one place or a whole area; a much-loved walk, the best place to spot butterflies or have a picnic or a favourite attraction. The judges .. will be looking for well written, journalistic articles that capture the readers’ imagination and inspire them to go out and visit the places described. Entries will be judged in two categories: ages 7–10 and ages 11–14. First prize in each is a family ticket to one of fourteen top attractions across the South Downs, second prize will be a £20 book token and third prize a £10 book token.
The deadline is noon on Friday 13th June 2014. You’ll need the entry form and three pages of terms & conditions (you’ll want to seek legal advice after reading the latter).
Too Much Too Soon
The Country Landowners Association has been telling the Midhurst and Petworth Observer about their views on the South Downs National Park Authority’s looming Community Infrastructure Levy. Their enthusiasm is muted:
An unfair and unreasonable CIL system .. could stifle the rural economy and exacerbate the lack of rural housing in the area. We are concerned the SDNPA is planning to introduce this levy too soon and without demonstrating sufficient evidence for a genuine consultation. If the new charges are to be introduced, they must be planned and delivered through a thoughtful, transparent and evidenced process rather than a rush to raise money. The stated date for adoption of the South Downs Local Plan is 2017, but the CIL charges are proposed to start in 2015. At the proposed rates, the levy on developing a three-bedroom house of 150 square metres, for example, would add £30,000 to the development cost. If these charging rates are not developed with care and evidence, there could be a severe consequence on rural development ..
[Discographical footnote: it is the forty year anniversary of the release of Too Much Too Soon by the New York Dolls.]
Do androids dream of electric sheep?
The West Sussex County Times reports:
The majority of Horsham district councillors opposed the development of solar farms proposed for Steyning, Ashurst and Partridge Green by three separate applicants at the Development Control Committee meeting on Tuesday April 15.
Although the three applications had to be considered separately and based on their own merits, councillors and residents claimed that the solar energy generators, as a whole, would impact on the rural landscape and set a precedent for future applications if approved, despite all having no objections from the South Downs National Park Authority.
Philip Circus (Con, Chanctonbury) said that the council spends much of its time discussing the aesthetic impact developments have on the South Downs, but when it comes to renewable energy that debate seems to go ‘out of the window’.
“I think we’re spoiling the countryside for no good reason and we should not be swept up onto this bandwagon of renewable energy,” he said.
Fulking Parish Council – Planning Meeting
Fulking Parish Council will hold a Planning Meeting on Wednesday 16th April 2014 at 6.30pm in the Village Hall to consider the following planning applications:
SDNP/14/01601/FUL Timbers, Clappers Lane, Fulking, Henfield BN5 9NJ
Demolition of existing dwelling and construction of new 5 bedroom house.
Full information available on the South Downs National Park website — here.
SDNP/14/01350/TCA Shepherd and Dog Inn, The Street, Fulking, Henfield BN5 9LU
- Remove dead limbs and tidy up the two large ash trees in this section, because of risk to people sitting beneath and to improve the quality of this area. Coppice the hazel and lower shrubs along field bank to improve views across the South Downs. Clear the stream side border adjoining car park and replant with more suitable/inviting plants.
- Remove dead wood from large ash tree for safety reasons. Remove 50% of cherry saplings surrounding the base of said large ash.
- Lower trees/shrubs along the far bank of the stream to enhance the quality of the views of the South Downs and to generally tidy this whole area up. Thin the crowns of the trees surrounding the child’s play area to allow more natural light through.
- Would like to scrub clear this whole area and remove mixed tree saplings to allow some to become mature stand alone trees. This area is overgrown and not too pleasing to the eye in its surroundings.
- Would like to clear the front of the bank to the rear of the public house, some of the vegetation is starting to touch the roof of this grade two listed building and would like to remove it before it becomes more do an issue. These works would also improve access behind the building.
Full information available on the South Downs National Park website — here.
Members of the press and public are invited to attend. Members of the public are entitled to speak at the meeting for two minutes, by prior arrangement with the Clerk at least 1 hour before the meeting. No more than two speakers for each application and two against.
Andrea Dickson, Clerk to Fulking Parish Council
01444 451 060 / andreadicksonfpc@gmail.com
There’s a catch, of course.
Minerals Local Plan
