Tag: South Downs

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Cycling in the Downs

Have you ever thought of doing sections of the South Downs Way on your bicycle?

For anyone not so keen on the uphill sections there are electric bikes available for hire in a number of towns located close to the South Downs Way. Midhurst is the recommended start point for this 20 mile roundtrip. E-Bike Adventures e-bike hire service and All Ride Now e-bike shop in Midhurst can help there.

From the hire shop, it’s just a short distance until you reach the turning for Bepton and you are then on a quiet country road running alongside Midhurst Common and out into open countryside. The route passes through Cocking and then up to the South Downs Way via Crypt Lane. Look out for the Time Column in Cocking and (disused) railway tunnel which hopefully will one day become part of the Centurion Way.

After crossing the A286, it’s a slow steady climb up the South Downs Way, but there’s plenty of reason to stop to admire the view to the West and North. You now have 5 miles of South Downs Way to enjoy. There’s dense woodland on your right and grazing pasture, ancient tumulus and plenty of places designated as SSI opposite. You reach a height of 234M at the intersection with the path to East Dean to the south and Duncton to the North. The views to the North East and West even on a dull day are fantastic. A short detour from here to Tegleaze Crown will take you to the highest point on the South Downs in Sussex at 255M. It’s downhill from here to Duncton via the quarry and A285. Check your brakes before you freewheel down and make a stop at the overview point at Fryan’s Hanger.

At the bottom of Duncton Hill after the 2 sharp lefthanders, turn left into Beechwood Lane. In ¾ mi, you’ll find a small gate on the right leading into Seaford College. Turn left and pass through the school grounds and along the track with Lavington Stud Farm on your right and pass the gatehouse. A right turn will lead you to St Giles Church, Graffham and on down the hill into the old part of the village.

Follow signs for Heyshott/Midhurst until you reach Heyshott Common. Follow the sign marked Footpath to Dunsford (the former home of Richard Cobden). Pass Canine Partners and along the path to Dunsford and up the road to Pendean. You arrive at Oaklands Lane where you turn right passing over the disused railway to Pulborough until you come to Church Road on the left. It’s a short sharp rise but you’ll sense refreshments are (hopefully) just a few minutes away so it’s little bother. From Church Road turn left onto Selham Road and it’s a few hundred yards down to Chichester Road and South Pond in Midhurst. For your well-earned coffee and cake the time will come again to try Gartons in the Market Square. The time will also come again when there are plenty of pubs for something stronger.

Chris Steibelt, Trustee

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Planning Update for Hampshire Festival

Click to enlarge

An organisation has applied for planning permission in the South Downs National Park between Alton and Bordon.

This planning application concerns a site off the B3004 in the parish of Worldham. Application details:

SDNP/19/03709/FUL  Change of use of Oakland Farm and associated land holdings from Agriculture and B8 (Open Storage) to mixed use Agriculture, B8 (Open Storage) and Seasonal Event Space associated with the holding of a Religious Festival associated with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association; alongside the provision of external storage space, new landscape and revised ventilation. To fine out more or to comment of the application go to:  https://planningpublicaccess.southdowns.gov.uk/online-applications/ and put the reference in the search box: SDNP/19/03709/FUL

Background:

This application follows the withdrawal of application SDNP/18/02170/FUL previously under-determination by the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), and the officer’s recommendation for refusal. The event is currently run under the 28 day rule for agricultural properties. So far there have been over 120 objections to this latest application. The previous application attracted over 170 objections. The application is seeking to extend the period of the event to 7 weeks, of which 4 days would be for the event, with the remaining time taken for erection and dismantling of the site infrastructure. In addition it seeks to increase attendance to a maximum limit of 50,000.

The planning application states:

  • The Application site is 74ha, and lies adjacent to two SSSIs and a SAC.
  • The festival, known as the Jalsa Salana, is organised by the AMA and is usually held in the UK, every year, on or around the last weekend of July. The recent number of participants is assessed at 38,000, with people attending from more than 100 countries.
  • It is envisaged that the overall vehicle attendance for on-site parking as a whole will not exceed 3,900 per day on the basis of the measures that have been taken by the AMA to maximise the use of contracted coaches and public transport. Further parking is made available for up to 5000 vehicles at Country Market, a small retail park some 3 miles from the event site with buses laid on for transport to the event site.
  • Currently, the gathering extends over three days, beginning on Friday after the Friday Sermon, with site construction and dismantling taking and additional 25 – 30 days.

 

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Appeal against enforcement by shooting organisation at Iford near Lewes

Iford Shoot Appeal Hearing

Extract from the appellant’s submission showing the shooting plan: The South Downs Way runs through this area. (more details in our report) see also sketch map below.

The battle to protect the South Downs by local communities against the expansion of commercial shooting on the Downs near Lewes took another turn last month. Despite previous planning action by the local council, commercial shooting on the Downs near Lewes has continued over the last 10 years. Lewes District Council (on behalf of the SDNPA) issued an enforcement notice on 14 August 2018. This then generated an appeal which was heard by the government’s planning inspector at a hearing on 10 March 2020 in Lewes.

The game shooting organisation had legal counsel and a planning consultant present. The SDNPA case was put by the local Enforcement Officer from the Lewes District Council and a South Downs National Park Officer who put forward some points in favour of the enforcement case.  The owners of Breaky Bottom Vineyard engaged a barrister who was a key figure in putting the alternative case to the inspector against the expansion of shooting beyond the 28 days legal limit. The Friends of the South Downs were represented by one of their local volunteer District Officers, Brian Davies, who spoke at the hearing giving evidence against the expansion of commercial shooting.

There are some concerns about the lack of fair and proper public notifications of the appeal hearing , the proximity of shooting activities to public rights of way, the noise of shooting disturbing the tranquillity of the Downs, the effect on the flora and fauna of the area, the use of the National Parks Whole Estate Plans in making out a case for shooting and the impact which such intensive activities have on the nearby villages and their residents.

Commercial Shooting activities at this location are at odds with a number of the policies of the South Downs National Park including:  Landscape Tranquillity Policy (SD7), Landscape (SD4), Biodiversity (SD9) and Section 6B, – Enjoyment of the National Park and it’s policy SD23.

The decision by the Government’s Planning Inspector will be announced in the next couple of months. 

The image above is approximate in the centre of this sketch map.

 

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Taller Mobile Phone Masts?

Is the relaxation of Permitted Development Rights (PDRs) the right way forward to support the deployment of 5G and extend mobile networks?

Report by Friends of the South Downs Policy Officer, Victor Ient

After some considerable research using my own telecommunications experience, updated by consulting engineers currently working in the mobile sector, I have submitted, on behalf of the Society, our opposition to the relaxation of permitted development rights to allow the unregulated installation of many more and taller* mobile phone masts in Areas of Special Landscape Importance including national parks. We believe there is a viable alternative to just simply relaxing the rules. We have put forward a 6 point plan for a less obtrusive deployment to the Government in our submission to the public consultation. Click here to see a copy of what we said: Response to PDRs

*The current restriction on the height of the masts is set at 82ft (25m) but it could be doubled to 165ft (50m) — almost exactly the same height as Nelson’s column.

Telecommunications Clutter in the Countryside

Unfettered development of masts in protected areas will be a disaster for our beautiful countryside. What is the point of providing the highest planning protection for National Parks when the area could be littered with telecommunications clutter?  Keeping the planning rules as they are would ensure mobile operators would effectively have to comply with the purposes of the National Parks and protected landscapes.

Lack of Mobile Strategy in the Countryside

Sadly, the government has not previously put forward a strategy for the provision of mobile telecommunications in the countryside.  Many of the problems of the 1980s, when mobile base stations were first deployed, still exist today.  Figures differ, but it is quite clear that there are many areas where 4G is currently not available.

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News from Campaign for National Parks

Bill Bryson, Carol Vorderman and others call to increase school visits to National Parks

17 celebrities including award winning writer Bill Bryson, Gordon Buchanan, Carol Vorderman and Caroline Quentin have come together to call for urgent action to get more school children into the National Parks.
 
The well-known names signed an open letter organised by Campaign for National Parks, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Open Spaces Society, Ramblers and the YHA.

The Westminster Government has an explicit goal to double the number of young people experiencing National Parks. On the 70th anniversary of National Parks the celebrities and organisations feel it is urgent that government keeps this promise.

READ MORE…