CAMPAIGNERS hoping to get Petersfield and key surrounding villages reinstated into the controversial South Downs National Park boundary have admitted "there's a long way to go." But hopes remained high as the inquiry into the boundary lines was re-opened in Worthing, West Sussex, this week. The inspector at the helm said he would now hold sessions to debate the inclusion of the western Weald within the park's proposed boundary – after it was dramatically excluded at an inquiry in 2005. Petersfield and its villages had originally been cited by Natural England, an authority which has the power to govern such park boundaries, foir inclusion. Organisations that campaigned to have the campaign re-opened were pleased at the possibility of a turnaround, including East Hampshire MP Michael Mates, the South Downs Campaign, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Natural England, Hampshire County Council, and the respective town and parish councils. The western Weald is the area along the A3 corridor which incorporates Petersfield, Sheet, Steep, Liss, Greatham, Hawkely, Froxfield and Stroud. Campaigners descended on the Chatsworth Hotel in Worthing on Tuesday, as hundreds had done for a pre-inquiry meeting in Hove last December. The inspector's decision was made easier by West Sussex County Council's announcement at the inquiry that it would not be opposing further hearings on the western Weald, which led the inspector, Robert Parry, to say: "It is not a difficult decision in truth, because no-one has come before me to say there should not be sessions on the western Weald." The Worthing inquiry is expected to be concluded by early April. Christopher Napier, chairman of the Campaign to Protect Rural England's Hampshire branch, said: "CPRE Hampshire is pleased that the inspector has decided that he will hold special sessions on the issue of the exclusion of the western Weald, towards the end of the inquiry. This is what we were asking for and the inspector has agreed." East Hampshire MP Michael Mates called on the inspector to respond positively to the call of the communities of the western Weald and include them in the national park. He said: "I am pleased that the park inquiry has re- opened to reconsider the issue of whether the western Weald should be included in the national park. "There was shock and dismay throughout the western Weald at the original recommendation of the inspector. "This was not only because it went against the views of the Countryside Agency and English Nature but because it appeared to be based on flawed reports and a misunderstanding about the differences between English and Scottish law relating to national parks. "If the western Weald is not included in the national park it will mean that the area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) will also go because the criteria for beauty used in the designation of national parks and for the AONB are the same. "If AONB status was lost in the western Weald, it would take several years to get it restored, during which time the pressure for development would be immense. "I hope the inspector will listen to all the arguments of those seeking to include the western Weald in the national park – including the new evidence that is now available – and that this matter will be fully discussed at the reopened inquiry. I also hope that local people in East Hampshire will make their views known to the inspector if they have not done so already." The South Downs Campaign (SDC) also welcomed the inspector's decision at the start of the re- opened inquiry and felt they now had the opportunity for the western Weald to be given the fair hearing it did not receive last time, which would allow the SDC and others to present a coherent case for the area. However, the SDC warned the public that the future of the Western Weald is by no means guaranteed. South Downs Campaign chairman Robin Crane said: "We welcome the inspector's decision on the western Weald. "While the inspector's announcement is an important step forward, we have still got a long way to go to safeguard this area's future. Nothing is guaranteed at this stage. "The future of the western Weald could still be threatened, particularly if West Sussex County Council were to submit evidence opposing the inclusion of the area in the national park." Mr Crane added: "We have been overwhelmed with offers of help and expressions of support for what we are doing. For anyone to even contemplate taking these special areas out of the national park is madness." Members have spent the past two months preparing for the inquiry, including working over Christmas and the New Year, to make the case for a bigger national park along the lines originally proposed by the Countryside Agency – now Natural England. The SDC believes that it has strong public backing in seeking the inclusion in the national park of the western Weald. To date, nearly 4,000 people have signed the SDC's online petition calling for the western Weald to be included in the national park. In addition, many parish and town councils from the affected area have joined the SDC. Prominent SDC campaigner Margaret Paren added: "The hall was full and we had a protest outside. Representations were made by Natural England, Hampshire County Council and the South Downs Campaign, saying that we should have a hearing." The key dates for evidence are the two weeks from April 15, when a professional landscape assessor gives evidence on the SDC's behalf. Mrs Paren added:"We thought that the inspector had very little legal basis for refusing to hear the evidence. From that point of view, we thought this outcome was likely. Whitehill county councillor Adam Carew attended the re-opening of the inquiry and is set to give evidence on Woolmer Forest and Longmoor in mid- March. He said: "It is outrageous that so many East Hampshire communities have been left out of the national park and we are determined to make the local voice heard."
