BESTSELLING author Bill Bryson, who is known across the world for his love of the English countryside, has come to the defence of Petersfield and its surrounding villages this week. In a robust statement about the importance of preserving the character of the area, American- born Mr Bryson, who now lives with his family in Norfolk, has thrown his weight behind the campaign to keep Petersfield and the western Weald inside the boundaries of the proposed South Downs National Park. Conservationists in East Hampshire were astounded and outraged earlier this summer when proposed new boundary lines were announced by the national park inspector. They left Petersfield , Liss and a host of surrounding villages, including Steep, Sheet, Stroud, Greatham, Rake and Rogate, out in the cold. Campaigners fear that if this area is excluded from the park it will also lose its Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status and be left at the mercy of developers. But this week Mr Bryson, who took over as president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) in June, came to see the threatened landscapes for himself on what he called a "fact- finding mission". He said he wanted to be armed with all the details so that he could help fight the proposed boundaries. He is the second high-profile supporter of the campaign to tour the area. In July, actor Brian Blessed joined a special walk organised to highlight the fight for the western Weald. Mr Bryson chose the picturesque setting of Ditcham Tithe Barn for the start of his mission this week and travelled to a vantage point so that he could view the A3 corridor and the Rother Valley, which have been left out in the cold by the national park inspector. Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Bryson said: "I am trying to keep an open mind today and understand the issues. I have spoken to many campaigners from the South Downs Campaign and from East Hampshire CPRE and they all have strong arguments to back the case. "My instinct is that you have a beautiful landscape here which should be protected. This is something incredibly special – all British countryside generally is special – and it really should be defended." Mr Bryson added: "It is quite scary that if we end up with a smaller national park parts of this area may not even be protected by an AONB, and the important thing to consider is do we really want to see a B&Q or an Ikea in this countryside? It would be heart breaking to see such a tranquil and quiet area developed in that way." He said the growing numbers of houses demanded by the government, especially in the south east, meant that to a certain extent people had to accept there would be many more homes built. Mr Bryson added: "In my view, these should be built in towns and cities and lovely countryside such as this should be protected. "I was shocked to see the planning inspector's argument to exclude from the national park a large tract of land known as the western Weald, because it's a different type of landscape from the nearby chalk downland. "This countryside is some of England's finest and one of the glories of the English landscape is its huge variety." He warned: "If this beautiful landscape is left out of the national park it will run the risk of being picked off by developers and lost forever. "It has also been recommended that the historic market town of Petersfield be excluded from the national park. Where is the sense of excluding this settlement which has such a strong historic and cultural link with the South Downs and can contribute so strongly to the economic and community life of the new national park?" He urged the Secretary of State to confirm the original wider boundary, including the whole of the western Weald which was so carefully worked out by the Countryside Agency and designated five years ago. Leading campaigner Margaret Paren, who is vice- chairman of the South Downs Campaign, welcomed Mr Bryson's visit. She said: "This is a great fillip to our campaign. We have had a great deal of support from many different areas, including many MPs from all political parties. Mr Bryson was gobsmacked with all the scenery he was shown on Tuesday and has signed the petition to include the western Weald in the proposed park boundaries. "We showed him the views of the Rother Valley and the A3 which the minister says is so dominating, noisy and intrusive and degrades the landscape for miles and yet, as we showed Mr Bryson, you cannot even see it from the vantage point above the Rother Valley." Mrs Paren stressed the importance of writing to object to the inspector's proposed new boundaries. She said the closing date was September 24 and letters could be sent to Defra minister Jonathan Shaw at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR. The South Downs Campaign online petition can be signed at http://www.petitions.pm.gov.uk/western-weald">www.petitions.pm.gov.uk/western-weald. Mrs Paren also urged objectors to write to their MPs, saying: "It's very important to object strongly to Defra about the omission of the western Weald."
