The SDNPA’s annual review for 2013-14 has just been published. The first achievement listed in the press release is the provision of 450 water voles to the River Meon. Other highlights include resurfacing just under a mile of the South Downs Way, replacing 46 signposts and repairing or replacing 24 gates. The full report is here [PDF].
Fireworks
Fulking Parish Council asks residents to alert their neighbours in advance if they plan to set off fireworks. This is essential if your neighbours have pets, poultry or livestock on the adjacent land and applies at any time of the year (e.g., birthdays, weddings, parties, New Year, etc.), not just the traditional November round of fireworks
A27: ten mile diversion
The Kent and Sussex Courier reports:
Sections of the carriageway will be resurfaced between Falmer and the Southerham roundabout using carriageway closures. It is due to be completed, weather permitting, by Monday November 17 and mean closures of the road between 8:00pm and 6:00am. A fully signed diversion route will be in place via the A23, A259 and A26. The diversion will add approximately 10 miles to journeys. The A27 will be closed between the Falmer interchange and the Southerham roundabout as follows:
- Monday October 20 to Sunday November 2: eastbound carriageway
- Monday November 3 to Monday November 17: westbound carriageway
Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus
As readers who heard Peter Griffiths speak at the recent meeting of Fulking Parish Council already know, Mayfield Market Towns has been caught telling porkies. You can catch up on all the details at the LAMBS website. Nothing that Mayfield says in the future can be taken at face value.
Not in our front yard
The Midhurst and Petworth Observer has an interesting report from a Chichester local plan hearing:
Ian Ellis, director of Southern Planning Practice, [said]
The [South Downs] National Park will do the least it possibly can to meet its objectively-assessed housing need, whatever that is going to turn out to be. It will expect a proportion of its objectively-assessed housing need is met by other authorities. My experience is when they go forward with the local plan, they will be .. saying ‘can you accommodate X per cent because we don’t want to accommodate it here and we don’t have to’.
In response, the SDNPA’s strategic planning lead Lucy Howard said the plan was yet to finalise its decisions: “The authority does need to consider the purpose and duty of a national park,” she said, highlighting its ‘landscape sensitiviy’ .. the SDNPA was in the ‘early stages’ of working on its strategic housing market assessment. “We do realise that if necessary we will be approaching neighbouring local planning authorities, but we’re simply not at that stage yet”.