Richard Gurner

Campaigners led by author Bill Bryson are pressing for the western Weald to be included in the South Downs National Park after revised plans excluded 23% of the area covered by earlier proposals. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has agreed to reopen the public inquiry following public and campaign-group pressure. The South Downs Campaign is urging consultation respondents to return forms and attend preparatory meetings so they retain the right to speak, warning that excluded countryside could be vulnerable to development.