Fascinating tale of the fight for South Downs revealed in new book
July 8, 2024
The South Downs National Park was first mooted back in the 1920s, but it would take almost a century for one of England’s most breathtakingly beautiful landscapes to be designated for the nation.
With the downland under increasing pressure from development, seven people met in a small office at Sussex Wildlife Trust HQ in 1990 with one dream – to help secure the long-term protection of this treasured landscape that had inspired the likes of Austen and Kipling.
By the time the dream of a “South Downs National Park” was realised, the campaign had swollen to a movement of 159 national, regional and local bodies.
It was a campaign full of twists, turns, setbacks and mini-victories, especially over the much-debated Western Weald, one of the most anciently wooded parts of England, which almost didn’t make it into the National Park.
A Public Inquiry, a change in the law, an Appeal Court decision, and a re-opened Inquiry that overturned the original findings, were all necessary before the National Park was confirmed in 2010.
The extraordinary story of the campaign to create the South Downs National Park – and the people and characters behind it – have now been brought together in a compelling book called The Fight for the South Downs, by Robin Crane.
Editing the book has been Margaret Paren, a former Whitehall Civil Servant who worked tirelessly over many years to help secure the designation and was a key protagonist in the battle to protect the Western Weald.
Such was her passion for the South Downs that Margaret became the National Park Authority’s first Chair and served for a decade.
Margaret and Robin were joined by a clutch of central figures from the campaign at a special launch ceremony for the book, held at the National Park Authority’s offices in Midhurst.
Robin spent part of his working life as a wildlife film producer and chaired the meeting of the “original seven”, who founded the South Downs Campaign and remained chair until the designation.
Robin, who lives in Midhurst, West Sussex, said: “This is a story that I believe needed to be told, how a swathe of south-east England became a National Park, protected for future generations for them to enjoy and nurture. All of us who were involved are proud of what has become the South Downs National Park.
“John Templeton, one of our doughty campaigners, said of our story that ‘you couldn’t make it up, it is something too astonishing to be believed!’
“I’m greatly encouraged by people, who knew nothing of our history, who have said that once they began reading the book the story was so gripping they couldn’t put it down.”
Margaret, who lives in Liss, Hampshire, said: “This is a story that shows just what can be achieved by determination, hard work and, above all else, passion for a cause. Every day I look out at the countryside around me and marvel at the legacy of the Campaign.”
The Fight for the South Downs is now on sale priced at £14.99. It can be purchased at the following locations:
South Downs Centre, Midhurst
Seven Sisters Visitor Centre, Exceat
It can also be bought online on Amazon and Brown Dog Books.