LISS villagers are being urged to go green in a bid to save the western Weald – and keep the village within the national park boundary. Green posters that read 'Save the western Weald – Include Liss' have been distributed among various organisations and are available to anyone who wants to show their support towards the campaign to put up in their windows. The public inquiry into whether the western Weald will be be included in the national park is set to re- open on February 12, with a pre-meeting also scheduled on December 11, at the Great Hall in the Hove Centre, Hove. The western Weald includes Petersfield, Liss, the A3 corridor and the surrounding villages of Sheet, Steep, Stroud, Greatham, Rake and Rogate. All of them would be excluded if the inspector once again rules them out of the proposed boundary. Margaret Paren, vice-chairman of South Downs Campaign Group, spoke at a Liss Parish Council meeting on Monday and told councillors about the poster campaign. Mrs Paren told the Herald: "We are very pleased that the inquiry has been re-opened. This will give us the opportunity to present new evidence which we are sure will persuade the inspector to change his mind. "We feel it is absolutely vital that the western Weald is within the national park and we will do absolutely anything to make sure that it is." Mrs Paren told the meeting that buses may be organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) to visit Hove for those interested in supporting the western Weald. Mrs Paren said: "We want to get as many people there as possible, to give the message people are taking this seriously." Mrs Paren asked the parish council if they would be prepared to donate any money towards the South Downs Campaign. They agreed an initial sum of £1,000 would be paid, with possibly more to follow if necessary. Other groups in Liss have donated around £250. A total of £50,000 is needed in all, as part of the campaign, which would go towards having expert witnesses in the the reopened inquiry. The group have so far raised £20,000 towards their cause. Mrs Paren also told councillors that she had presented 2,000 representations to the inspector, all of which were in opposition to the exclusion of the western Weald from the national park. In addition to the poster campaign calling cards were to be enclosed within Christmas cards to ask people to sign natural petition, or if they would be prepared to put any funding into the campaign. Elizabeth Cartwright asked Mrs Paren if she was concerned that the same inspector that denied the western Weald in his last report was to be responsible for the reopened inquiry. Mrs Paren said: "He clearly had his mind made up on the first inquiry. "We are not happy about it. Representations are being made to DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)." The Planning Inspectorate are to hold their inquiry at the request of DEFRA. It is expected that once the inquiry opens in February it will go on for two to three months, before the inspector, Robert Parry, gives his recommendations to ministers – so campaigners may have to wait until late 2008 to hear the final decision. There was a storm of protest after Mr Parry's original report, published earlier this summer, concluded that western Weald area did not fit the criteria for inclusion. High-profile figures including author Bill Bryson, actor Brian Blessed and television personality Ben Fogle have all leant their support against the decision in recent months. The volume of public protest led to the government reopening the case. The South Downs was first considered as a national park in the 1940s and the current campaign has been ongoing since the 1990s. An online petition to the Prime Minister to include the western Weald in the South Downs National Park currently has close to 3,500 signatures and can be signed at http://www.petitions">www.petitions. pm.gov.uk/western weald. The closing date is July 9, 2008.
