SOUTH
DOWNS NATIONAL PARK
Boundary
Section Q
Castle Goring and land east of Titnore Lane
Submission
in support of inclusion from the East Preston and Kingston Preservation Society,
the Forum of Arun District Amenity Societies, the
Ferring Conservation Group and the Worthing Society
We welcome the
Secretary of State’s decision to include these areas in the South Downs
National Park. We will take this opportunity to summarise our reasons for
considering that the Secretary of State has reached the correct decision; and to
comment on the submission by Mr Clement Somerset, objecting to the inclusion of
this land.
Our reasons for
believing that this land meets the criteria for inclusion in the National Park
are:
1.
We consider that the woods
east of Titnore Lane and the parkland south of Castle Goring meet the natural
beauty criterion, as was accepted by the Countryside Agency at the Inquiry in
2004, and by the Inspector.
2.
Although there is no public
access to the land, we consider that it contributes to the recreational
opportunities of the area because:
(i)
The woods and parkland form
the central element of the view from the public access land on Highdown and at
Honeysuckle Lane car park, and Honeysuckle Lane itself.
(ii) The
full width of the parkland and the eastern edge of Titnore Woods can be seen
from the public bridleway running along the eastern boundary of the park.
(iii) The
area of land concerned is small – about a fifth of the area of the land at
Hinton Admiral that was excluded from the New Forest National Park because there
is no public access.
(iv) The
Court of Appeal ruled that it is self-evident that it is unnecessary for public
access to exist across every qualifying tract of land in a National Park.
(v) Mr
Justice Sullivan said that there may well be more scope for excluding land that
does not have public access near the outer boundary of a National Park than in
its main body, but that decisions on whether to exclude land in any particular
case was very much a matter of judgement for the Inspector on the ground.
The Inspector has agreed in this case that the land does not need
excluding.
Mr Somerset’s objections
1.
He considers the land is
basic farmland and woodland, and of no special beauty. He does not mention the
relationship between the grade 1 listed house, Castle Goring, and the parkland
south of it; and his judgement differs from that of most other authorities.
2.
He considers that the land
cannot contribute to opportunities for open air recreation, because there are no
public rights of way across it, no public access and no footpath links to
Durrington. We have explained above why we believe the land contributes to
recreation; and there are in fact two public rights of way leading from
Durrington to the right of way along the eastern boundary of the park, from
which a good view of the park can be obtained.
3.
He says that the land
considered to be the park of Castle Goring has always been farmed and the house
has never had a park. We have not had time to do much research into this
argument, but we have a copy of the 1879 Ordnance Survey map, which marks the
area we consider to be a park as a private park. The relevant extract from the
map is attached. He also says that the park was let to a farmer in 1800, when
the house was being built. It is not certain that Sir Bysshe Shelley was living
in the house at that time; indeed, it is not certain that he ever lived in it.
It was still unfinished when Sir George Pechell leased it in 1824. Leasing the
park to a farmer was no doubt a means of ensuring it was grazed to control the
growth of the grass. The essential point about the park is that provide the
setting that the house was designed to occupy; it has changed little since 1800.
It may well be true that the landscape was in its present form before the house
was built; but the position of the house was skillfully chosen so that it fits
into the landscape. The house has, unfortunately, since been cut off from the
park by an overgrown hedge.
We consider,
therefore, that Mr Somerset’s arguments do not negate the case for including
Castle Goring, its park, and the woodland east of Titnore Lane in the South
Downs National Park.
David
Sawers
August 13th 2009