THIS was the week that campaigners had been waiting for – the chance for the case of Petersfield and the surrounding area to be heard in the inquiry for settling the boundary of the controversial South Downs National Park. From Tuesday, representatives from the South Downs Campaign (SDC) were in Worthing to present evidence on the inclusion of the western Weald, and sessions were set to run on into next week as the momentum builds. The South Downs Campaign has been a pivotal force in the battle to convince the inspector that the western Weald should be included, having been excluded from an initial boundary last year. They fought for the inquiry to be re-opened and, after a preliminary hearing in December, inspector Robert Parry said he would be prepared to hear evidence on the western Weald – an area that includes Petersfield, Liss, Sheet, Steep, Greatham and Hawkley along the A3 corridor. Now the SDC is hoping that the "massive" level of public support towards the matter will help the inspector make a u-turn on his original decision. Margaret Paren, the SDC vice-chairman and the Hampshire representative for Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), presented the SDC's opening statement on Tuesday. It would voice the "heartfelt anger at the idea of the western Weald being excluded from the national park". The statement read: "More than 4,250 people have signed the online petition to the Prime Minister in favour of the inclusion of the western Weald. Currently, this makes it the number one 'live' environmental petition and in the top 10 environmental petitions since the website was set up." Mrs Paren admitted that while public opinion was not a statutory criterion for the designation of a national park it was, nevertheless, "very important for the well-being of any future national park". She said the importance of being included for those in the area was further emphasised as the statement described a "powerful pull between the Downs and the Weald". The statement went on: "It is palpable in the representations made last year and explains why many of us have put our lives on hold to prevent that link being severed. "We want you to understand the country that we are so passionate about and so we have put together a Powerpoint presentation. It is only a flavour of the many images of the area that we could have presented to you, given the number of photographers who volunteered their services. To truly appreciate the area and to understand it properly you must visit it for yourself." The SDC statement argued that there were two key factors for the inspector to bear in mind: "We believe there were two major determinants you considered in reaching your provisional recommendations: first, the issue of single or core character and, secondly, the provisional conclusion you reached regarding the quality of parts of the western Weald." Mrs Paren highlighted that the inspector, in his original report, had found certain areas, including the A3 corridor, to no longer meet the natural beauty criteria for inclusion within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Mrs Paren said the SDC was backed by Hampshire County Council, East Hampshire District Council and Natural England in disagreeing with a landscape assessor's analysis that certain areas had lost their natural beauty. The statement continued: "Of course, there have been instances where policy has failed or its application has not been as rigorous as it might have been. These things happen, even in the best protected landscapes. There are also, as everywhere, rogue landowners or land users. These factors have led to limited, localised degradation." They groups agreed that this amounted to "a profound breakdown of national, regional and local policies that have been directed not just at the conservation of natural beauty but to its enhancement too". The SDC argument was that the landscape assessor's conclusions did not have a high threshold of evidence. Mrs Paren added: "We, therefore, believe that it is essential that the landscape assessor's findings should be subjected to proper scrutiny. We intend to play our part in this by bringing before you evidence on what has happened to these areas since they received national protection. "We have divided our evidence into discrete subject areas that we hope will assist the inquiry. "We will also bring before you evidence on the possible new boundary. Our concern here is not the line on the map as drawn by Natural England, but the underlying concepts and assumptions, which relate again to the landscape assessor's findings. "This possible alternative boundary raises a number of serious issues for the future of the western Weald and its future management." Mrs Paren pointed out that 145 groups were now represented by the SDC. These included national, regional and local organisations, as well as town and parish councils. The evidence, to be presented over the sessions in Worthing, would have the logos of the major contributors on the front page of each proof of evidence. For example, the evidence for Petersfield was compiled by The Petersfield Society and was endorsed by Petersfield Town Council. Similar representations have been made to include Liss and the A3 corridor. Mrs Paren said: "In all these cases we will be relying on new evidence not available to the inquiry during its earlier sittings. A great deal of this evidence has only become available since the closure of the first part of the inquiry. Other evidence was available at the time but is new evidence to the inquiry." SDC chairman Robin Crane was set to provide information about the campaign and how it operates in the group's closing statement to the inquiry. Also set to talk was one of the country's leading landscapers, Professor Robert Tregay, who was specially commissioned by the SDC for his expertise on both nationally designated landscapes and the South Downs. Mrs Paren said: "Putting together our evidence has involved an immense amount of work from a large number of people, mainly volunteers. The fact that so many people have been prepared to give up their time in order to prepare this evidence demonstrates the passion felt about the future of the western Weald, not just by those who live within it but also by those who know it and love it as a place to visit."