South Downs National Park Becomes Reality in November 2009

Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP points to the South Downs from the garden of Ditchling Tea Rooms

On 12 November 2009 Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs signed the Designation Order making the South Downs National Park a reality in law with England's newest National Park becoming operation from 1st April 2011.

Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP inspects the Designation Order

I was invited to cover the event at Ditchling Tea Rooms for the then South Downs Joint Committee. It's not often we get a someone such as Hilary Benn on home turf! We have much to thank him for; the South Downs National Park, the ninth in England, providies protection for 632 sq-mile of beautiful landscape.

The Dew Pond on Wolstonbury Hill, there are approximately 300 across the South Downs where there is no running water, they provide an important source of water for livestock

The South Downs National Park includes the village of Ditchling and many unique landscapes including nearby Wolstonbury Hill, home to the rare Man Orchid Orchis anthropophora, the Seven Sister chalk cliffs and Cuckmere Haven with the classic meandering river.

Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP signs the Designation Order enshrining The South Downs National Park in English Law

The National Park and surrounding area is also the largest wine producing region in England, with over 145 vineyards in South East England, including two in Ditchling with awards for the quality of their Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines. If you ascend Ditchling Beacon and look north it's surprising how many vineyards have been planted locally in the last ten years.

Creating the newest National Park has taken 60 years, but it's been worth the wait.