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Marine
Conservation
The 8th
July session may be looked back upon as an historic moment, IF the Inspector
agrees with our arguments to include a marine boundary within the South Downs National Park.
Our
January
submission called for the cliffs from Black Rock to Newhaven to be
included in
the National Park. This would join with
the designated National Park boundary at Roedean and Telscombe,
elsewhere
bringing the boundary along the southern edge of the A259, or the urban
fringe
where the housing is south of the road, and including Castle Hill,
Newhaven. The designated boundary also
includes the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head
area, but only as far as the low
water mark.
The
Countryside Agency has used, as its
foundation stone,
the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act to define the
South Downs National
Park,
which refers to the criteria of “natural beauty” and “opportunities for
open-air recreation”. We have argued
that it is simple and logical that the marine part of the coast should
be
within the National Park.
Roedean Cliffs
The “natural beauty” of the
coast is because
of the sea:
without it there would be no dramatic, sheer white cliffs.
The rich assemblage of flora and fauna is so
because of the marine influence. The
“opportunities for open-air recreation” are thanks to the sea – the
magnet that
draws people to the area, providing the diverse range of leisure
pursuits. It is also from the sea that
many of the
problems come from, that threaten the natural beauty, tipping the
balance to
unsustainable or inappropriate recreation. This
is why the National Park Authority needs a mandate to
control this
area.
The fight for the National
Park is because
of the South Downs’ vulnerability to
destructive developments; the growing
campaigning is due to the increasing damage and threats to the area. As far as the coast is concerned, it is the
inextricable relationship of land and sea that is the very essence of
this
area; thus, both need proper protection and management.
You can’t have a coastal
National Park if you
ignore the sea and its influence.
The
marine
area clearly meets the two essential criteria for National Park
designation. The Countryside Agency
conceded this crucial point at the Public Inquiry.
However, there is a problem - over legal
definition - under planning laws, England stops at the low water mark!
That is why, to build Brighton Marina, an Act
of Parliament was needed. At the 8th
July session there was a fascinating debate between the Agency’s
barrister,
defending the land boundary of the designated National Park, and the
South
Downs Campaign’s legal adviser, arguing for the marine boundary. It is interesting to note that Crown Land extends out 12 miles, so could this
not resolve the problem? Those legal
anoraks amongst you may wish to argue the finer points of sections 5
and 101 of
the Act. Section 5 refers to “extensive
tracts of country in England” (ie land down to low water)
whereas Section 101 states that a “National Park may include Crown Land” (ie the sea up to 12 miles out).
We believe
that it is legally possible to designate the marine area as part of the
National Park. However, as we stated at
the Inquiry, even if it were not, along the coastal strip of the South Downs National Park there could be an open boundary,
giving the Authority some necessary influence over marine matters. In this case, the Countryside Agency should
be pressing the Secretary of State to bring forward legislation to
include
marine areas within National Parks’ administration.
It is
depressing that the Countryside Agency, who have designated the
National Park
(subject to confirmation) should be spending their time trying to
justify a
legal reason why we can’t protect, conserve and enhance the area. As a twenty-first century National
Park
(not a 1940s one!) the Agency
should be looking at ways to include marine areas in the South Downs National Park, not excluding them.
To read
Excerpts from our Proof of Evidence, click here
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