Creation of South Downs National Park confirmed

There have been three significant developments in the protected area network in the United Kingdom this month. EUROPARC member the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM) informed us about the confirmation of the South Downs National Park and of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill receiving Royal Assent and of the subsequent creation of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, which includes provisions for creating Marine Conservation Zones. They learned of these exciting happenings whilst their annual conference was taking place from 10-12 November 2009, this year on ‘Protected Areas: Past, Present and Prospects’.

The South Downs National Park will come into being on 31 March 2010. Phil Belden (South Downs Joint Committee) said: The South Downs is special; we can now celebrate its belated entry into the National Parks family. Internationally important; including chalk grassland, probably the most diverse habitat of NW Europe. The ‘South Downs preservation movement’ goes back to the 1920s, where Peacehaven’s sprawling new development lit a fuse, laying the foundations for our modern planning system. In the north, public access was being fought for, epitomised by Kinder Scout. This led to the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act. The South Downs was on the National Parks list, but rejected in the 1950s; later becoming two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Much has happened to the Downs over the intervening 60 years post-Act; three pressures, development, agriculture and recreation, have taken their toll. Campaigning for better protection has continued; politics dominating the debate. The South Downs was formally designated a National Park in 2002; Government confirmation not until 2009! The future must not be about ‘protecting’ this area. It needs to be about restoration and re-creation, fit for the 21st century and the challenges ahead: habitat connectivity for our species to adapt to climate change; ecosystem services, the Downs is the drinking water aquifer for millions of people; managing access in this popular, pressurised landscape.

Many thanks to the IEEM for letting us publish this information. Please contact Mimoza Hember for more information about the IEEM and visit the South Downs website for more information about the future national park.