South Downs National Park - latest
Background
The original Public Inquiry into the proposal for a South Downs National Park closed in March 2005. The Inspector who held the Inquiry sent his report to the Secretary of State of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in early 2006. In October 2007 the Secretary of State decided to re-open the Inquiry in February 2008 to consider a number of specific issues.
Designation process was halted by a court case
On 8 February 2006, DEFRA sent a letter to all those involved in the South Downs Public Inquiry saying that it had halted the designation process. This was due to the implications of a High Court judgment in November 2005 on the ‘Meyrick Estate’ case concerning the previous designation of the New Forest National Park.
After sending the letter on 8 February 2006, DEFRA inserted two sections into the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (NERC Act) to justify an interpretation of two key criteria used by the government agency (Natural England) and the Inspector in designating the New Forest National Park. In November 2006, DEFRA took the ‘Meyrick Estate’ case to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal judgment on 15 February 2007 quashed the appeal by DEFRA and ruled that the insertions in the NERC Act could not apply to the New Forest National Park.
Designation process re-started
On 16th March 2007 DEFRA sent a letter to all those involved in the South Downs Public Inquiry saying that it would not contest the Court of Appeal decision on the ‘Meyrick Estate’ case. DEFRA then re-started the South Downs National Park designation process. It placed advertisements in local papers on 20th June 2007 and wrote to all Public Inquiry participants. It placed the Inspector’s report and supporting documents on public deposit at local council offices from 2nd July to 24th September 2007. This was the first time that the district council and the public had seen the Inspector’s report since the Inquiry closed in March 2005.
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Briefly, the Inspector’s report recommended that a South Downs National Park should cover only the characteristic chalk downland of the South Downs, but not the extensive areas of non-chalk landscapes included in the original Designation Order.
The period of public deposit gave an opportunity for interested parties to raise new matters resulting from the NERC Act 2006 and the ‘Meyrick Estate’ judgment. DEFRA also sought views on the Inspector’s recommended alternative boundary line (running from north of Petersfield to Pulborough) that excluded non-chalk landscapes. Public opinion was also sought on a number of suggested areas for inclusion within the Park.
EHDC lodged objections to the Inspector’s recommended alternative boundary line (Petersfield to Pulborough) and to a number of inconsistencies in the Inspector’s report. It also objected to a second undefined boundary around an ‘A3 corridor’ area (including Petersfield and Liss) which the Inspector had recommended for exclusion from the National Park.
Re-opened Inquiry
The re-opened Public Inquiry started on 12th February 2008 and closed on 4th July 2008. Due to pressure from public organisations and local authorities, the Inspector considered a greater range and depth of issues than DEFRA originally requested him to look at. The District Council presented its evidence to the Inspector in April 2008.
How long will it take?
The re-opened Inquiry will be followed by a period for the Inspector to write a report. He expects to present it to DEFRA by the end of November 2008. So it might be possible for DEFRA to announce the Secretary of State’s decision in Spring 2009 resulting from re-opened Inquiry. After that, it is very difficult to estimate a timetable of events because of the possible effects of the DEFRA decision.
The quickest route to setting-up a South Downs National Park would be for the Secretary of State to confirm the original Designation Order boundary and reject the Inspector’s recommendation to exclude non-chalk landscapes from the National Park. This would allow DEFRA to revoke (ie de-designate) the existing East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sussex Downs AONB because they would be covered by the new National Park. On the other hand, if the Secretary of State accepted the Inspector’s recommendation to exclude non-chalk landscapes from the National Park, a new order would be required to create a new AONB for any appropriate parts of the two existing AONBs that would remain outside the National Park. This process could delay confirmation of the National Park by well over a year.
Whatever the Secretary of State decides about the boundary and revoking the two AONBs, the arrangements to set-up a fully functioning and successful new national park authority for the South Downs (and a possible new AONB authority) will be complex and long-winded. It will require cooperative working with the fifteen local authorities that operate in the proposed national park area. Thus, the timetable for establishing a new national park authority could easily run to beyond 2011.
As a rough guide, an estimated timetable based upon the speediest series of possible events is shown below. However, the designation process has already been subject to major delays and the actual events and outcomes remain very uncertain.
| Estimated timing | Possible events |
| 2008 (February) |
Start of re-opened Inquiry. |
| 2008 (July) |
Close of re-opened Inquiry |
| 2008 (November) |
DEFRA receives the Inspector’s report of the re-opened Inquiry. The Inspector could change his original recommendations for a National Park based only on “chalk downland” and for exclusion of the “A3 corridor” (which includes Petersfield & Liss). |
| 2009 (Spring) |
Secretary of State could confirm the original National Park Designation Order & revoke the two existing AONBs. |
2010
(or later) |
Skeleton South Downs National Park Authority could be established to run a limited range of functions. |
| 2011 (or later) |
Fully functioning South Downs National Park Authority could be operational. |