The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, established on March 31, 2010. It covers an area of 1,627 square kilometers (628 square miles) in southern England. The park extends for 140 kilometers (87 miles), starting at Winchester in the west and ending at Eastbourne in the east, passing through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex, and East Sussex. The park includes the chalk hills of the South Downs, which form the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head along the English Channel coast. It also includes a large part of a different area called the western Weald, which has hills and valleys made of sandstone and clay, covered with dense forests. The South Downs Way runs the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that is completely inside a national park.

History

The idea for a South Downs National Park began in the 1920s, as people became worried about the harm caused by unplanned housing developments, especially in the eastern Sussex Downs (Peacehaven was an example). In 1929, the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, led by geographer Vaughan Cornish, sent a letter to the Prime Minister asking for national parks, including one on part of the South Downs. However, in 1945, John Dower’s report on national parks in England and Wales did not include the South Downs as a national park, but instead listed it as an "amenity area." In 1947, Sir Arthur Hobhouse’s report recommended the South Downs as one of twelve areas for national park status, defined as "extensive areas of beautiful and relatively wild country" where landscape beauty is protected.

The South Downs was the last of the twelve areas to be designated as a national park. Damage to the chalk downland from farming and a drop in sheep grazing made it harder to move forward with the plan. In 1956, the National Parks Commission decided not to designate the South Downs as a national park, noting that farming had reduced its value. However, it recognized the area’s natural beauty and suggested it be protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Two AONBs were later created: East Hampshire AONB in 1962 and Sussex Downs AONB in 1966. These areas later became the basis for the South Downs National Park.

In September 1999, the government supported the idea of a South Downs National Park and started a public discussion about its creation. In 2003, the Countryside Agency (now Natural England) proposed the park and submitted the plan to the government. However, objections led to a public inquiry from 2003 to 2005, which delayed the decision. The inquiry was paused due to a legal issue involving the New Forest National Park.

After new laws were passed in 2006, the inquiry report was published in 2006. It suggested reducing the size of the proposed park by 23%, focusing on the chalk downland and excluding parts of the AONBs. This caused controversy, with groups like the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England arguing for the inclusion of the western Weald, a region with different geology and landscape. A new consultation was held in 2007, and the inquiry was reopened in 2008. The final report was submitted in 2008.

On March 31, 2009, the government announced the South Downs would become a national park. On November 12, 2009, the order to create the park was signed, including areas like the western Weald, Lewes, and Ditchling. The Sussex Downs Conservation Board, which managed the AONB, was merged with East Hampshire AONB under the South Downs Joint Committee in 2010, pending the formation of the national park authority.

The South Downs National Park officially began on April 1, 2011, when the new authority took over management. An opening ceremony was held in Petersfield, a town near the chalk escarpment. In 2016, the park was named an International Dark Sky Reserve to reduce light pollution. It became the second such area in England and the 11th worldwide.

Administration

The South Downs National Park is managed by the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA). This organization was created on April 1, 2010, and began working completely, including becoming the planning authority for the park, on April 1, 2011. The SDNPA is responsible for supporting the official goals of the national park and the needs of people who live and work there. The official goals of the SDNPA, as a national park authority, are outlined in the Environment Act 1995. These goals include:

• Protecting and improving the natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural heritage of the area
• Encouraging the public to understand and enjoy the special qualities of the park

The SDNPA also has a duty to help the communities living in the national park grow economically and socially.

The SDNPA is a public organization funded by the central government and led by a board of 27 members. The board includes seven national members, chosen by the environment secretary through an open recruitment process; fourteen members from local governments covering the park area (with Adur and Worthing sharing one representative); and six members from parish councils, with two representatives from each county.

As of June 2024, Vanessa Rowlands is the chair of the SDNPA, and Tim Slaney is the acting chief executive.

Geography

The South Downs National Park covers 140 kilometers (87 miles) across southern England, starting near St Catherine's Hill in Hampshire and ending at Beachy Head in East Sussex. In the western part of the park, the southern edge is up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) inland from the coast, which means it does not include major coastal cities like Southampton, Portsmouth, Chichester, Bognor Regis, and Littlehampton. Further east, the park’s southern boundary is closer to the coast and avoids urban areas such as Worthing, Brighton and Hove, Newhaven, Seaford, and Eastbourne, which grew into the park during the 19th and 20th centuries. In contrast, the park includes several towns in the western Weald, such as Petersfield, Liss, Midhurst, and Petworth, as well as the historic towns of Arundel and Lewes in Sussex.

Approximately 108,000 people live within the national park. Of these, 42,000 live in Hampshire, 40,000 in West Sussex, and 25,000 in East Sussex. East Hampshire and Chichester Districts each have about 30,000 residents in the park, while Lewes District has 22,000. Winchester has 11,500 residents in the park, with smaller numbers in other areas. In 2024, the park authority reported that it receives about 18 million visitors each year.

The park covers an area of 1,625 square kilometers (627 square miles), with 544 square kilometers (210 square miles) in Hampshire, 807 square kilometers (312 square miles) in West Sussex, and 237 square kilometers (92 square miles) in East Sussex. Chichester District has the largest area at 544 square kilometers (210 square miles), followed by East Hampshire District (279 square kilometers or 108 square miles), Winchester (265 square kilometers or 102 square miles), Lewes District (159 square kilometers or 61 square miles), and Arun (102 square kilometers or 39 square miles). Additional areas include 93 square kilometers (36 square miles) in Horsham District and 60 square kilometers (23 square miles) in Wealden District.

The park includes two areas previously labeled as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: East Hampshire AONB and Sussex Downs AONB. It also includes Queen Elizabeth Country Park near Petersfield. The park contains 86 national Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and 13 international Special Areas of Conservation. A 2024 report reviewed tick populations in the park, using data collected in 2015 and 2016.

The South Downs National Park is unique because of its chalk downland, which is different from other national parks in Britain. However, about 23% of the park is a different land area called the western Weald, which has dense forests and hills formed from older sandstone and clay. The highest point in the park, Blackdown at 280 meters (919 feet) above sea level, is located in the Weald on the Greensand Ridge. The highest point on the chalk escarpment of the South Downs, Butser Hill, is 271 meters (889 feet) above sea level.

The park includes two chalk hill figures: the Litlington White Horse and the Long Man of Wilmington.

Geology

Most of the national park is made up of chalk downland, although a large part of it includes sandstones and clays from the western Weald. This area has a very different landscape, with hills and valleys covered in thick forests.

The chalk was formed during the Late Cretaceous period, between 100 million and 66 million years ago, when the area was covered by the sea. Later, during the Cenozoic era, the chalk was pushed upward as part of the Weald uplift. This movement created the Weald–Artois Anticline, which was caused by the same geological forces that shaped the Alps. Over time, weathering of the chalk created a cuesta landform, which has a steep, north-facing escarpment rising above the low areas of the Low Weald.

This chalk escarpment reaches the English Channel near Eastbourne, forming famous white cliffs such as Beachy Head, the Seven Sisters, and Seaford Head. These cliffs were shaped after the last ice age, when rising sea levels formed the English Channel. The sea eroded the chalk, creating the cliffs.

The South Downs stretch from the Eastbourne area through southern Sussex to the Hampshire downs. They divide the coastal plain from the sandstones and clays of the Weald. Behind the escarpment, the land includes smooth, rolling hills with dry valleys and wind gaps, as well as major river gaps like those of the Cuckmere, Ouse, Adur, and Arun rivers.

Chalk is a white, fine-grained sedimentary rock that allows water to pass through easily. It is made of tiny calcite plates called coccoliths, which come from microscopic organisms called coccolithophores. Layers of flint nodules are found in the chalk, and these have been used for making tools and building homes. Similar areas in Britain include the North Downs and the Chilterns.

In the western part of the national park, the area extends beyond the chalk escarpment of the South Downs into the western Weald. This region includes the valley of the western River Rother, carved into Lower Greensand bedrock, as well as the forested hills and valleys of the Greensand Ridge and Weald Clay south of Haslemere.